Checkmate
by Nomaly
Summary: The great strategist Donald Michael Lydecker is caught up in a conspiracy surrounding an organization conducting research similar to his own, but this organization takes no prisoners.
1. Prologue

"We're here at the scene of what appears to have been an underground explosion in Northwestern Oregon

**PROLOGUE:**

**THE GAME BEGINS**

"We're here at the scene of what appears to have been an underground explosion in Northwestern Oregon. We're not exactly sure what caused it just yet, but this has drawn a lot of attention from federal authorities. The FBI has essentially cut us off from the area. But what we do know is that what appears to have just been a normal house on this hill behind me was much, much more. There is speculation about this being some kind of secret government research lab. I can't get a clear answer from anyone around here, but…"

Colonel Donald Lydecker picked up the remote and turned off the television before him. He grabbed the phone on his desk. "Get Delta Team ready for deployment. I want them at the chopper pad in 15."

Aboard the helicopter, Delta Team was conducting inventory on their equipment. Colonel Lydecker was sitting up front looking out the window, a concerned look on his face.

Lieutenant Spencer's voice came over the com. "Colonel, was it one of ours?"

"No, we don't have anything in Oregon."

"What will be our objective, sir?"

"We'll need to gain control of the situation. Just make sure your team is ready for a quick insertion."

"Yes sir."

Colonel Lydecker reached into the duffle bag at his feet and pulled out his laptop. After a couple of minutes, he was getting a live feed from the site of the explosion. It was the same reporter from earlier on the screen in front of him. Colonel Lydecker turned up the volume.

"…and we now know that there are some casualties. Special Agent in charge Ashley McGee has roped off the area, but from our vantage point we have seen at least five people brought out on stretchers."

Colonel Lydecker turned around in his seat to look at Lieutenant Spencer. "Get me all the information you can on a Special Agent Ashley McGee of the FBI. And see what kind of contingent the FBI has sent to Oregon."

"Yes sir."

The colonel turned his attention back to the news broadcast. "…body bags being brought out. And you can now also see Special Agent McGee off to the right. It looks like she has gathered her detail together for a meeting of some kind." As the camera focused on the agents, Lydecker tuned out the reporters voice. 

Special Agent McGee was a very attractive, young woman-young being the operative word. My God, she only looked around 30. She looked very sure of herself, standing there addressing her men. And she's the only woman. She nodded to a few of the men and they walked off. _Ahh, she must have sent them to guard the perimeter_. It looked like she had around twenty agents under her direction, and they had to be spread out. It shouldn't be too difficult to handle them.

The camera stayed on the group of agents. The reporter was going on about how the FBI is trained to handle situations like this.

Colonel Lydecker smiled. They weren't trained to handle his Delta Team. He shifted in his chair. "What's our ETA?"

"Twenty minutes, sir."

Colonel Lydecker looked back at the computer screen. The camera was now focused directly on Agent McGee. Lydecker found himself rather attracted to the young agent. She was thin, but not too thin. She had short, brown hair and was very energetic while speaking to her men.

Lydecker smiled. _Probably would be a handful in bed._ "Lieutenant."

"Sir?"

"It looks like they have four agents covering the perimeter. I want the perimeter secured immediately after we land. That includes the media. Be discreet, but I want them shut down. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Contact Alpha Team. We're going to need them here. And get the techs assembled and on their way, too. Have Alpha Team report directly to me when they arrive."

"Right away, sir."

"Oh, and lieutenant, I want you, Winters, Richter, and Pike with me when we land. We're going to have a little talk with Special Agent McGee."

"Yes, sir."

"And where's that information on Agent McGee?"

"Coming right up, sir." Lieutenant Spencer stepped forward and handed Colonel Lydecker several sheets of paper. 

Lydecker quickly skimmed over them. So, she's 31. She graduated first in her class at the academy. She's handled a lot of cases throughout her career, but no high profile cases. That would make this her first big case. _She'll probably be a little more territorial than usual, then. _

Lydecker flipped the page. She has no living relatives. Parents died in a plane crash ten years ago. That happened while she was at the academy. _Hmph_. Apparently it didn't affect her _too_ much, or she was just one very focused young lady. No close friends; more of a loner. Never had a long term relationship. Hmmm.

Colonel Lydecker looked up from the papers, staring out the window as the ground below him flew by.

"How much longer?" Lydecker asked.

"Five minutes out, sir."

"Get your men ready lieutenant. I don't want any trouble."

"Yes, sir! Alright men, listen up!" Lieutenant Spencer said as he spoke into the headset. "You know what you're supposed to do. Richter, Winters, and Pike-you're with me. The rest of you know what area of the perimeter you will cover, right?" 

Lieutenant Spencer's headset was filled with affirmatives from the rest of his men.

Colonel Lydecker looked ahead out of the front window and the objective was very visible, even from several miles out. Red and blue lights dotted the area. A few floodlights had also been set up.

They couldn't have timed their arrival any better, Lydecker knew. The sun had set an hour ago, so their approach would be masked. His men could get to their areas of operation without being visualized. And the FBI still wouldn't have had time to send in any reinforcements. Besides, they weren't even aware of the need to send anyone else. Matters should proceed smoothly. 

The colonel allowed himself a brief smile, knowing he had trained his men to be the best.

His men were at ready and on the ground even before the helicopter touched down. They _had_ been trained well, and it showed. Several of the men disappeared into the night. Only four remained at the chopper. They each fell in behind Lydecker as he headed for the FBI command post in search of Special Agent McGee.

Special Agent Ashley McGee was from a small town in Virginia. Her father had been a successful lawyer, her mother a successful homemaker. Growing up she had everything she wanted. Ashley always demanded the best of herself, so she was always successful in all of her endeavors. Failure was _not_ an option. She pushed herself to be the best, and that is exactly what she was-the best. Her only setback in life was when her parents died in a plane crash. What would have made most crumble emotionally only served to make her stronger. There wasn't time for grief in her life, nor was there place for it. She was able to turn off her feelings, something that continues to come in handy in her present life. She immersed herself in her training at Quantico and it paid off. She got her first assignment in Washington D.C., and never looked back.

Agent John Pierce walked over to a long table, at which Agent McGee was leaning over inspecting a few small pieces of metal. "Hey Ash, there are some men here waving federal badges around. And they want to speak to you."

Agent McGee sighed, clearly annoyed that her train of thought was interrupted. "What men?" She asked as she looked up and got her answer. There were four men, standing in front of her, with the young agent. Three of them appeared to be soldiers of some sort, dressed in black fatigues. 

The older one, who was dressed in civilian clothing, spoke first, extending his hand as he did so. "Colonel Donald Lydecker."

Agent McGee hesitantly shook his hand and started to introduce herself. "Special Agent…"

The colonel cut her off. "I know who you are, Agent McGee. We need to talk." Lydecker motioned for her to walk with him. "Shall we?"


	2. THE FIRST MOVE

1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Dark Angel. If I did, I wouldn't be here now. J

** **

** **

**1**

THE FIRST MOVE 

One by one, along the perimeter, the FBI agents standing guard were taken down members of Colonel Lydecker's Delta Team. Within five minutes, they had the perimeter secured, and the report was radioed to Lt. Spencer.

Special Agent McGee stared at the colonel for what seemed an eternity. _Donald?_ Something didn't feel right. Ashley's gaze shifted to one of her men who was motioning for her off in the distance. "You'll have to excuse me for a few minutes, colonel. I am needed by one of my agents." The colonel will just have to wait. He just stood there and looked at her. 

Ashley motioned for Agent Pierce to accompany her. As they walked off, she could feel Colonel Lydecker's eyes on her. 

Colonel Lydecker watched the two agents as they walked away. He could tell from their body language that they were having a conversation. "How much do you want to bet that _we _are the subject being discussed between those two?" It was more of an observation than a question. 

Lieutenant Spencer spoke up, "Sir, the perimeter is secure."

"Very well."

As the two agents were walking, Ashley asked, "Pierce, what agency did he say they were with?"

"He didn't. Just flashed his badge and asked where you were. I didn't really want to question the guy. He's very intimidating, and did you see the _firepower_ his men were carrying? I'd say they are military."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I get the feeling that he knows everything about me, and I am totally in the dark here." She paused for a minute, and then continued, "I want you to go find out what you can about him. And make it quick."

"You got it, Ash."

Lydecker saw Agent Pierce leave McGee's side and head off in the direction of a communications van. He looked up at Corporal Winters and nodded. Winters immediately headed towards the van to see what Agent Pierce was up to.

Ashley walked up to an agent dressed in white coveralls, though the coveralls weren't exactly _white_ anymore. Agent Roger McCall was covered from head to toe with dirt and dust. He looked exhausted. _Join the club_. "How's it going in there, Roger?"

"It's a mess Ashley. There are a lot of bodies scattered around. I've got men down to the fourth sublevel so far. That place is huge, Ashley. And it had been a really secure facility." He sighed. "Anyway…the reason I wanted you here is that one of the men found these five video discs. He found them in what appeared to be a surveillance room. I figured you'd want them right away." McCall handed the five discs over to Ashley. "And there has to be more down there. The men are searching the room as we speak."

"Thanks Roger. Keep me posted."

"Will do."

Ashley put the discs in her coat pocket and turned around to head back to her 'guests'.

Lydecker saw Agent McGee pocket something that the other agent gave her. "I do believe Agent McGee is not going to cooperate with us, gentlemen," Lydecker said without taking his eyes off Agent McGee. Then she turned around and their eyes met.

"Damn!" Ashley muttered under her breath. He probably saw the discs. _Now what?_

Their eyes stayed locked on each other as she continued walking towards him. He _was_ a very intimidating man. She had to make a conscious effort to keep her eyes focused on his, meeting his challenge. 

Then she abruptly stopped in her tracks. She looked at the men behind the colonel. _Where's the third soldier?_ Ashley looked back at the colonel. He smiled. Then it hit her. _Pierce. The van. Oh shit!!_ She started running towards the van. She didn't look to see if the colonel and his men were following her. She was quite certain they were. 

Then, without warning, Ashley was thrown from her feet and landed hard on the ground about ten feet away from her previous position. A wall of heat seemed to engulf her. Her head was pounding. Ashley grabbed the side of her head because of the intense pain. Rolling over onto her side, she saw Colonel Lydecker shouting at his men. And they were allheading straight for her. She sat up and felt blood start running down her face. It was then that she saw what was left of the original crime scene. _My men!_ Ashley struggled to her feet, needing, wanting to do something. As soon as she was standing upright, the pain shot through her head, and she fell back into the colonel's arms. _How'd he get here so quickly?_ She looked up at him. He said something, but she couldn't hear him. Then, slowly, everything around her went black.

"McGee!" Lydecker shouted as he held the young woman in his arms. 

"McGee!" He brushed her hair back and saw a pretty bad gash on the side of her head. He noticed fresh blood spots starting to form on her white shirt underneath her jacket. So, he laid her back down on the ground and unbuttoned her shirt. He saw several small, penetrating wounds on her chest and abdomen that had to have been from flying debris. They weren't too bad, but she needed medical attention soon. 

Lieutenant Spencer was kneeling on the ground beside the colonel, looking through the first aide kit that Delta Team carried as part of their standard equipment. He handed Lydecker some gauze to wrap her head wound with. "It doesn't look too bad, sir," Spencer said.

"No, we just need to…"

Automatic gunfire erupted in the direction of the hill. Lydecker jerked his head up and saw gunfire being exchanged from two different directions. Spencer and Pike moved into positions in front of their commander and held their weapons at ready.

"Say again, Delta 3," Spencer said, speaking into his headset.

Lydecker fished his radio out of his coat pocket and turned it on.

"…came out of nowhere, lieutenant. There's too many of them."

"Are they FBI?" Spencer asked.

"Negative. The first shots took out the agents we had in our custody."

Lydecker broke in, "This is command. Fall back immediately and rendezvous at the chopper. Out."

"Copy that, command," was the reply.

Lydecker put the radio back in his pocket, but left it on. "Let's get out of here, lieutenant."

"Yes, sir," Spencer replied. "What about her?"

Lydecker looked down at Ashley lying on the cold ground. He was silent for about a minute. "We take her with us." He bent down and gently picked her up in his arms. She groaned and grimaced as he did so. She was extremely light to him. It didn't take much effort on his part to carry her to the chopper. 

When Lydecker arrived at the chopper, the rest of his team was already in a defensive position around it. They had lost the attackers in their retreat, but everyone was at ready because they knew that could change at any second now. 

Lydecker climbed aboard the chopper with Ashley still in his arms. He went to the back as the rest of his men piled in. 

Winters appeared with a stretcher and put it on the floor.

Lydecker laid Ashley down on the stretcher and then motioned to the pilot to take off. He grabbed a headset so he would be in constant communication with his men. "Contact Alpha Team and the Tech Team and have them return to base immediately."

The pilot keyed his com, "Yes, sir. I have them on the radio now." He relayedthe message. "Colonel, both teams have turned back and are headed back to base," the pilot reported.

"What's our current threat status?" Lydecker asked.

"Radar is clear, no air traffic in our current flight path. Threat receiver is clear, also. And we are well clear of the previous ground threat, sir."

"Let's keep it that way, Captain. I want us back at Manticore ASAP," Lydecker ordered.

"Yes, sir." The pilot eased the throttle forward to comply with the order he received. "ETA, fifty minutes."


	3. ASSESSMENT

2  
ASSESSMENT  
  
  
  
Lydecker knelt down beside Ashley and looked over her wounds again. Her head wound was still bleeding, the bandage soaked through with blood. Winters, the team medic, was in the process of changing that bandage. Ashley's shirt was still open, the red blood glistening on her white skin. An area of her bra was also saturated with blood. Lydecker retrieved some scissors from the first aide bag and cut off her bra. He tried to keep his mind on what he was doing, but found it quite difficult not to be distracted. She was a very beautiful young woman. Lydecker found himself wishing they had met under different circumstances. Lydecker shook his head, and forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. Upon further inspection, he saw a wound on the right side of her left breast, so he grabbed some dressing and applied it to the wound. He taped it tightly in place in hopes that it would help slow the bleeding.   
As Lydecker worked on a few of her other wounds, his mind went back to the attack. The explosion and subsequent ground attack had to have been related. What kind of research had been done at that facility, and was the attack to cover-up what was being done there or did someone want the information for themselves? One thing's for sure, I need more men with me if I decide to go back.   
He looked back down at Ashley. Ashley...she was no longer Agent McGee to him. Was she the only agent to survive the attack? The thought prompted a question from the colonel. "Lieutenant, were any of the other agents alive when we pulled out?"  
"Negative, sir. All of the agents were down. They also took out the news crew that we had shut down earlier. If it hadn't have been for our Kevlar, we would have lost some men ourselves," the lieutenant responded.  
Lydecker looked up at Lieutenant Spencer, clearly unhappy with his last sentence. I'll address that later.  
Lydecker watched as Winters finished up applying the last bandage on Ashley's abdomen.  
"Sir, have her extremities been checked for wounds?" he asked.  
"No," Lydecker said. "Check her arms. I'll check out her legs."  
"Yes, sir." Winters cut off her jacket and shirt to examine her arms. He found no more wounds.  
Lydecker couldn't see any blood on her dark navy pants, so he ran his hand down her left leg. When his hand was about halfway down her thigh, he felt...blood. He proceeded to cut both of her pants legs and found only superficial wounds, which, for the most part, had already stopped bleeding. Lydecker breathed a sigh of relief. Good. She'll be fine.  
"Looks like the only serious wound is her head wound, and that looks stable for now. I'll keep a close eye on her, sir," Winters said.  
"Very well, corporal. And get a blanket for her. We need to keep her warm." Lydecker ordered.  
As Winters got a blanket and covered Agent McGee up, Lieutenant Spencer was gathering up her clothes to put in a bag.  
The jacket! Lydecker remembered seeing her put something in her jacket pocket. "Lieutenant, give me that jacket."  
Spencer handed over the jacket to the colonel. He began checking the pockets and pulled out...discs. Five of them. He looked at them for a minute. Maybe I'll get some answers back at Manticore after all.   
Ashley became restless and began moving around some on the stretcher, groaning from the pain. She opened her eyes briefly and looked at Lydecker.   
"Should I give her some morphine, colonel?" Winters asked.  
Lydecker nodded, but didn't take his eyes off of Ashley. "And go ahead and start some fluids, too," he ordered.  
Ashley winced as the needle entered her skin. She kept her eyes centered on Lydecker. She was trying to figure out what was going on, but all she could focus on was her pain and the man that was standing over her. The pain quickly diminished as the morphine entered her blood stream. Her body slowly relaxed and her eyes got a dreamy look to them. Her eyes closed, but she forced them back open. The same man was still watching her. He seemed so familiar to her. Don't I know you? She tried her best to keep her eyes open, but the morphine was much stronger than she was. Ashley lost the battle, and drifted off to sleep.  
Lydecker watched as Ashley went to sleep, while Winters inserted the I.V. for starting the fluids. Her disorientation and confusion had been quite evident to him by the look on her face, especially when she looked directly at him.  
Winters sat back and made sure to hold the bag of saline so that it could flow unobstructed into Agent McGee's arm. He looked up at Lydecker. "Colonel, what are you planning on doing with her?"  
It was a logical question, Deck knew. But it didn't concern the young medic. "Just concentrate on treating Agent McGee, corporal."  
Winters knew the colonel well enough to know that that was all he was going to say. And the corporal knew better than to pursue it any further.  
Lydecker had already been pondering over that same question for a few minutes. He had come up with several options, but only one was acceptable. All of the FBI agents back in Oregon had been killed, and not all of the bodies would have survived the explosion. So, she would presumably be listed as killed in the line of duty. Lydecker unconsciously fiddled with the scissors he still held in his hand, while he stared ahead, deep in thought. After a couple of minutes, he blinked several times and looked back down at Ashley. Something had become perfectly clear to him. No one would ever come looking for her.  
  
  
  
Back in Oregon, the group of men responsible for the attack on the site is spread out searching the area and checking bodies. They were dressed in black fatigues similar to the ones Colonel Lydecker's men wore, but these men had on black ski masks to hide their identity.   
One of them slung his machine gun over his shoulder and walked off to an area to be alone. He pulled a cell phone out of his pants pocket and dialed a number.   
A female voice answered. "Report."  
"You were right. No one knew about the entrance on the west side. There was very little resistance inside. We got what you wanted and set the charges. That lab is history," the man reported over the secure line.  
"How many discs did you get?"  
"Fifteen."  
" There were supposed to be twenty."  
"We checked everyone inside before we blew the place and found nothing, ma'am. We're checking the bodies that are outside right now."  
"What are you not telling me, major?" the female's voice demanded.  
"He got away."  
"He got away! The one man I wanted dead got away?" There was silence on the phone line. "So, are you saying that he could have the five discs we need?"  
"It's possible. He got here faster than we anticipated." The major hesitated before going on. "He was here before we were."  
"Dammit, major! Of all the times to screw up! Need I remind you of how important and incriminating those discs are! Your incompetence could cost us dearly."  
"But..."  
"I don't want to hear your excuses, major! Just sweep the area for any survivors and get rid of them. Nothing is to be left that connects us to this. Nothing."  
"Yes, ma'am."  
"And major...no more mistakes."  
The line went dead.  
  
  



	4. CASUALTIES

3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. La la la. 

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**3**

CASUALTIES 

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The major removed the phone from his ear and turned it off. Great. That's just great. He put the phone back in his pocket. The major wasn't accustomed to being yelled at. He didn't like it, especially since it wasn't _all_ his fault that things didn't go as planned. He wasn't given any kind of warning about the mission. _She _was the one who organized the 'team'. I don't know half of the men here. They were more than likely paid mercenaries. Low-life's that had no loyalty. _I_ had _my_ men ready to depart on time, only to be delayed by her handpicked men. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. Now _he_ needed to yell at someone.

He jogged over to where the other men were. "Alright people, let's wrap things up! We've been here too long already!" He looked around at the men. "Why the hell are you still standing here! Move your ass and make one final sweep of the area!"

"Major," one of the men called out. "Major, we have a live one."

The major ran over to where the soldier was kneeling beside a man who was riddled with bullet holes. Amazingly he was still alive and conscious. He was laying on the ground in a pool of blood in front of a communications van. The major searched him for identification. He found his wallet and opened it up. Agent John Pierce, FBI. Well, this agent wouldn't be around much longer. The major looked at the dying man. _Oh, what the hell, it's worth a try._ "Agent Pierce, I'm looking for a few discs. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?"

The agent looked up at him, anger filling his eyes. "Fuck you," he uttered with his last breath.

The major just smiled. "Didn't think so." He turned to his man, "Put the remaining bodies in that van. Then blow it the hell up."

A few minutes later, the van exploded into a huge ball of fire. The major took one last look around, then climbed aboard the waiting helicopter. It lifted off into the night air, joining the other two that were already circling overhead. The three helicopters then disappeared into the dark night.

Sheriff's deputy Foster was driving down State Highway 38 when he saw what looked like smoke billowing in the sky off to the east. The full moon that was out that night made visibility particularly good. It was definitely smoke, and a lot of it. That's strange. Where could that be coming from? He grabbed his radio and keyed the mic, " Dispatch, this is deputy Foster. I'm out on Highway 38, about 30 miles south of town, and I'm seeing a lot of smoke off in the east. Has there been anything reported lately, maybe about a fire or something?"

"Deputy Foster, we haven't received any reports of fire in that area. Hang on just a minute."

"Roger, dispatch. Be advised that I am heading over in that direction now to check things out."

After about five minutes, his radio crackled, "Deputy Foster, this is Sheriff Rollins. Can you give me an estimate on how far that smoke is from your current position?"

"Yes sir, Sheriff. I'd say it is about 10 miles off to the east."

"Are you sure, deputy?"

"Yes sir, Sheriff."

"Damn."

"Come again, Sheriff?"

"Listen up, deputy. I want you to head on over there, but do not…I repeat, _do not_ enter the immediate area in question until backup arrives. Understood?"

"I read you Sheriff. Wait for backup. Um, sir, what's going on?"

"We're trying to find out. I'm sending two cruisers to meet you there. Just meet up with them and wait for further instructions."

"Roger, Sheriff."

At the Sheriff's office, there was an unusual amount of activity going on inside. Sheriff Rollins was looking at a map on the wall. "Yep, that's about where they'd be," he said to one of his deputies. He looked at one of the dispatchers. "You still can't raise anyone on the radio over there?"

"I'm still not getting an answer," the young woman replied.

Sheriff Rollins shook his head. "What is it about the FBI? I should have insisted on leaving one of my deputies there." He stormed into his office and slammed the door closed behind him. He stood in front of his desk, staring at the phone. If something has happened, maybe it was best that I _didn't_ have a man there. He walked back to his door and yanked it open. "Someone get me the number to the FBI in D.C.!"

Manticore had been designed with landing pads at several key locations, one being right outside the base hospital. This was the one Lydecker's chopper was currently heading for. Lydecker had radioed ahead and had spoken to a doctor about Ashley's condition so that the doctor could prepare for their arrival. 

Lydecker hopped out of the chopper as soon as it landed. Corporal Winters and Lieutenant Spencer were right behind him, carrying Ashley on the stretcher. The doctor was waiting for them and was now jogging up to the landing pad to see the patient. 

Ashley had been drifting in and out of consciousness for most of the helicopter ride. She was currently unconscious. The doctor took a minute to check her vitals.

Colonel Lydecker walked over to Lieutenant Spencer and said, "There'll be a debriefing at…" he checked his watch, "…23:30."

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant replied. 

Two nurses came up to the group rolling a stretcher and the two soldiers placed her on it. Corporal Winters and Lieutenant Spencer then went back to the chopper to gather their equipment. They loaded it into a humvee and drove over to building D-5, where the debriefing would take place later that night.

Colonel Lydecker stayed by Agent McGee's side.

"Colonel, we need to get this young lady checked out inside," the doctor said as he was inspecting Ashley's head wound.

"How bad is it?" Lydecker asked as they started wheeling her into the hospital.

"Well, she has had a significant amount of blood loss, so her blood pressure is a little low. We need to transfuse a few units of blood into her and get her wounds cleaned out and sutured. The head wound looks pretty serious. I'd say she has a fractured skull and maybe even a brain injury. We'll do a STAT CT scan of her brain to rule any injury out. _That _will let me know what kind of surgery she'll need, if any."

Lydecker waited in the hall while they did the CT scan. The door to the room opened and Lydecker saw the doctor come out. "Well?"

"She's going to be fine, colonel. There was no damage done to the brain. The skull fracture will heal on it's own. All we need to do is clean up her wounds and close them up in the OR. Should take about thirty minutes. Did you want to scrub in and observe?"

"No, I'll go up to the observation room and watch from there."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to go scrub in and get started." 

The doctor walked off and Lydecker went up the stairs at the end of the hallway. Up in the observation room, he could observe everything that happened in the OR below. He opened the door to the room and turned on the lights. The room was unoccupied, as expected. He was the table in the corner of the room had a pot of coffee on a warmer. _Good._ There were several chairs scattered throughout the room. He took off his jacket and sat it in a chair. At the back of the room was a desk with several computers and a control panel on it. Lydecker walked over to that desk and turned on the speakers in the room so he could hear everything being said below. He immediately heard the nurses discussing something about the equipment the doctor had requested. Lydecker ignored the voices. He adjusted the volume to the desired level. The front wall of the room that faced the OR was made completely of glass for unobstructed viewing. The side walls were lined with TV monitors. He could make use of the dozens of cameras in the OR and watch the surgery closely on the monitors, but Lydecker didn't see the need to do that, so he left them off. 

_Coffee sounds like a good idea right now._ He went over to the table and poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn't add anything to weaken it. _Strong and black_-that's how coffee is supposed to be. He took a sip. _Not bad._ He walked over to the glass wall. He squinted as he saw the doctor wheel Ashley into the room. _Damn!_ He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. _That's better_. Now there was a glare on the wall. He sighed. _Maybe if I turn out the lights up here._ He did just that, and it worked. He could see really well now. 

Lydecker stood at the glass wall sipping his coffee while he watched the doctor prepare Ashley for the procedure. He used this time to do some thinking. Ashley is not going to stay here at Manticore voluntarily. How do I make her want, or at least see the need, to stay here? He spent the next twenty minutes considering several options to the predicament that lay before him.

Ashley's surgery was over in less than thirty minutes. The doctor closed all of her wounds and then wheeled her into the recovery room. Lydecker was there to meet him.

"She should wake up in a few minutes, colonel."

Lydecker looked at Ashley sleeping soundly on the stretcher. "Keep her sedated."

"Sir?"

"You heard me. Keep her sedated. I have a debriefing to go to and I don't want her to wake up until I am back."

"How long will it take? I really don't want to keep her down for a long time."

Lydecker turned around to face the doctor. He didn't like his orders questioned. Ever. He stared at the doctor for about a minute. Then he shifted his gaze to the right, focusing on nothing in particular, and said coldly, "You'll keep her sedated until I tell you otherwise, doctor." There was a long silence. A chill filled the air in the room. Then Lydecker gave the doctor one last look, delivering the message as only Lydecker could, and walked out of the room.

The doctor nervously looked around the room and realized he had been holding his breath. He exhaled loudly. _Next time, keep your mouth shut. _He walked over to Ashley and adjusted the drip of Larazepam to keep her sedated until the colonel returned.

_ _


	5. Procedure

4

**5**

PROCEDURE 

** **

** **

Deputy Foster drove up to where he saw the blue lights of the other two cruisers. The deputies were standing outside their cars at the entrance of a dirt driveway that led up to what used to be an old house. _This is where that explosion occurred earlier, and the FBI came in and took control of the area. They're not going to let us do anything here. _He parked his car and walked over to the other two officers. One of the deputies had a pair of binoculars out and was surveying the hill in front of them. There were several fires that were still burning up on top of the hill, and those served to illuminate the area fairly well. 

"So, what's going on?" Deputy Foster asked.

Deputy Cooley lowered the binoculars from his eyes and looked at Foster. "Hey, Foster. Nothing is going on right now. Absolutely nothing. We haven't seen any movement since we've been here. But one thing's for sure, _something_ happened here not too long ago."

"What do you mean?"  
"Take a look," Deputy Cooley said as he handed the binoculars over to Foster.

"Jesus Christ! It looks like a war zone up there. Have you called this in?" The flames from the various fires reached up into the night sky revealing quite a bit of destruction.

"Yep," replied Cooley, "and Sheriff Rollins said to stay put. He's on his way. Said something about the FBI and that they didn't want us anywhere near the site. But Sheriff Rollins want us to keep an eye on things, so…"

They heard a car approaching and looked up. It was Sheriff Rollins.

"Speak of the devil," Deputy Cooley said.

"Yeah," Foster agreed. "Talk about perfect timing. How the hell does he do that?"

Sheriff Rollins walked up to the men. "Anything new?"

"Nope. The van's still burning as well as whatever was under that house," Cooley shook his head in wonderment. "We just gonna sit here, Sheriff?"

"Hell, no," the sheriff said. "Give me those binoculars, Foster."

Deputy Foster handed them over to the sheriff. The sheriff took them and looked around the site for a few minutes. His men remained quiet.

"The FBI won't be here for at least an hour, and.."

He was interrupted by the sound of approaching sirens. The four men turned around to see three fire trucks racing towards them, their red lights flashing brightly in the darkness. The sheriff smiled.

"_And_, we have to put out those fires. We wouldn't want them to endanger any of our citizens in this area, now would we?" Rollins asked.

The deputies shared a look.

"Of course we wouldn't, sheriff," Deputy Foster said.

The fire trucks raced past them.

"Well, what are you waiting for? They're obviously going to need our help," Rollins said as he got into his car and drove up the hill.

His deputies didn't need much encouragement. They hopped into their respective cars and followed the sheriff up the hill.

Colonel Lydecker had left the hospital at Manticore, and was outside walking over to building D-5 for the debriefing with Delta Team. He decided to walk over instead of being driven so he could use the time alone to think things through a little more. A car pulled onto the road he was walking on, it's lights shining brightly on the dark road. It was heading for him.

_Not now. _

Lydecker stopped walking as it drove up beside him and stopped. The window began rolling down on the back door. Lydecker leaned down to speak to the individual. __

_Renfro. _

"What brings you out here at this time of night?" 

_Bitch!_

"I heard that you took Delta Team on a little mission, Deck."

"That's right."

Renfro sat in the car, smiling at Lydecker, waiting for him to expound on what he did earlier that night. 

Lydecker returned the look. _You're dreaming if you think I'm going to say anything else right now._

Renfro's smile slowly faded. "I just went by to talk to Delta Team about what happened and they were quite reluctant to tell me anything. In fact, they _didn't_ tell me anything. They kept saying something about you debriefing them first?" The fake smile returned to her face.

"Procedure," Lydecker said sharply.

The smile disappeared, again. "Colonel Lydecker, I expect…" Her phone rang. Renfro picked it up and answered. "Renfro." She sat there listening for about a minute. "I'll be over right away." She hung up the phone. Renfro looked back at Lydecker who had stood back up and who was staring at the ground, seemingly uninterested in her intrusion. "Colonel?"

Lydecker leaned back down. "Yes."

"Colonel, I expect a full report by tomorrow morning."

"Of course," he replied.

Renfro rolled the window back up and the car drove off.

Lydecker resumed his walk over to building D-5. 

That _bitch _has some nerve. Delta Team knows better than to talk to anyone before I debrief them. There'll be a cold day in hell before I _ever_ cooperate with that self-serving bitch.

Lydecker took in a deep breath of fresh air. The air tonight was cool and crisp. He closed his eyes and took in another deep, cleansing breath. It seemed to clear his mind and invigorate him at this late hour. He opened his eyes, awakened to the fact that he needed to put the discs he was carrying with him in a secure location. He picked up his pace to allow time for the detour to his office. Once there, he put the discs in the one place no one other than himself knew about. He didn't make it this far without covering his ass.

Having taken care of the discs, Lydecker continue on his way to the debriefing. He knew there wouldn't be much to say because he did pull everyone out quickly. But, his men are never to be taken by surprise by anyone or anything. Failure cannot be tolerated, especially from such an elite team. Someone screwed up. _And I'll know who by the end of the debriefing._ If the soldier is smart, Lydecker knew, he will own up to his incompetence at the beginning of the debriefing. 

Lydecker approached building D-5, went through the security checkpoints, and entered the debriefing room. His men were all present and accounted for, loyally waiting for their commander. They all came to attention.

"At ease, men," Lydecker ordered.

They took their seats and the room fell silent as Lydecker walked to the front. A map was already up on the wall showing the movements of the team from their arrival until the helicopter lifted off to bring them back to base. There was also a time line, listing all of the events of the night, in order, as they occurred. 

Lydecker walked over to these and began studying them intently. Without turning around, he said, "I heard you men had a visitor a little earlier." He continued studying the map while waiting for a reply.

"Yes, sir, we did. Director Renfro came by asking questions about the mission. We referred her to you, sir," Lieutenant Spencer said. 

Lydecker continued facing the board in front of him. Then he looked down at the floor and asked, "And you didn't tell her _anything_, soldier?" He turned around to face his men, placing his hands behind his back.

"No, sir."

Lydecker smiled. "I know, lieutenant. She stopped me on my way over here. When she told me she stopped by to question my team, I knew that you men would never breech op-sec."

The men took that for what it was-praise from their commander. They knew that that was going to be as close to a compliment that they would get from Colonel Lydecker.

"Now, let's begin with the debriefing, lieutenant."

Lieutenant Spencer went to the front of the room and proceeded to begin reviewing the events surrounding the mission. He made use of the chart and the map, explaining in detail the team's movements and actions taken earlier that night. When he got to the time of the attack, Lydecker jotted down a few notes in a note pad, but he did not interrupt the lieutenant. 

After Lieutenant Spencer finished and took his seat, Lydecker spoke up, "Thank you, lieutenant. That was a very thorough review. Before we continue, would anyone like to add anything to this debriefing?" 

All of the men knew what Colonel Lydecker wanted. Slowly, Corporal Keenan stood up and said, "Perhaps I can add something, colonel?"

"Proceed, corporal," Lydecker replied coldly.

The corporal cleared his throat. "Well, sir, I had been patrolling my assigned area of operation for about thirty minutes when the attack started. I heard something in the woods to the right of my current position, and went to investigate. I should have been more alert, sir. It was a diversion, a trap. And it worked. I approached the area according to protocol. As I was closing in, the first shot from behind me went wide and hit a tree to my left. I dove for cover, identified the hostile, and returned fire. I heard a noise similar to the one I had heard earlier and looked on the tree that I was leaning against. I found a remote activated noise device attached to that tree. Someone had set us up, sir. I wasn't expecting an attack to be staged from within our security perimeter. But that's no excuse, sir. I still let you and the team down."

Lydecker looked at the young soldier standing at attention in the middle of the room. "That's right, soldier. You let everyone down. You are trained to expect the unexpected, and to handle such swiftly and forcefully." Lydecker sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. It had been a long day. "Did you retrieve the device from the tree?"

"Yes, sir," the young soldier replied as he pulled it out of a shirt pocket.

Lydecker motioned for him to toss it over, and Keenan did so. Lydecker caught it and examined the device for a few minutes. It looked very much like one of the devices he had at his disposal here at Manticore.

"Today is your lucky day, corporal. I came over here fully intending to kick your sorry ass out of this elite unit, but I've changed my mind. But this in no way lets you off the hook, soldier. Consider yourself on report."

"Yes, sir."

Lydecker looked at his watch. It was getting late. "Leitenant Spencer, I want your written reports in my office in one hour. I'll review them later. Dismissed."

The men all came to attention as Lydecker exited the room.


	6. COMING TO

A little voice inside Lydecker's head was questioning his decision to let the soldier remain on the team Valued Gateway Client Normal Valued Gateway Client 4 63 2001-10-26T19:44:00Z 2001-11-01T20:20:00Z 4 1250 7130 59 14 8756 9.3821 Normal 

**6**

**COMING TO**

A little voice inside Lydecker's head was questioning his decision to let the soldier remain on the team. _Am I going soft?_ No. That was the corporal's first, and only, allowable mistake. I put him on report. _One_ more mistake, and he's history. And he knows that.

As Lydecker walked across the base, he found himself heading back to the hospital. He frowned. He couldn't stop thinking about Ashley. _This could be a problem_. I haven't gotten emotionally involved with a woman since…

He sighed. 

_Why now?_ _Why her?_

Lydecker pushed the thoughts aside to focus on the more pressing issue at hand. Ashley couldn't be left at the hospital overnight. That's too risky. She'd be stable enough for transfer to a more secure location. His predetermined transfer location wasn't the best idea for several obvious reasons, but it was the only acceptable option. 

He made it to the hospital and went to the recovery room. Ashley lay on her bed, sedated, per Lydecker's 'request'. The doctor was reading over the current labs. He didn't hear Lydecker enter the room.

"I assume there's been no change in her condition," Lydecker said.

The doctor swung around, obviously startled. Lydecker got much inner satisfaction from catching people off guard. It always gave him the upper hand. They should be more situationally aware.

"Oh, um, colonel. Yes. I mean, no." The doctor ran his hand nervously through his hair. "No, I mean…there's been no change in her condition. I've kept her sedated like you wanted," he said.

"Has anyone stopped by here?"

"No. No, it's just been me here with the patient."

"Good. Wake her up and then leave us. Your services are no longer needed," Lydecker said matter of factly. 

The doctor complied with the order without hesitation. He was all too happy to get this patient, and more specifically, Lydecker, away from him. 

"There you go, colonel. She should come around in a couple of minutes."

The doctor waited a few seconds for a reply, but got none. He took the hint and left the room.

Lydecker walked over to the bed. He watched closely as the medicine had it's desired effect. Ashley's eyes slowly opened. Lydecker reached down and slid her over some, allowing enough room for him to sit on the bed beside her. She groggily looked up at him. It would take a while for the effects of the sedative to completely wear off, much to Lydecker's chagrin. 

Ashley tried to sit up, but Lydecker gently grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back down.

"I wouldn't try that just yet. You're going to be light headed for a few more minutes. Besides, you're still hooked up to these monitors. Just lie back and I'll get this taken care of so you'll be much more comfortable."

Lydecker leaned over and pulled the hospital gown down off her shoulders. He stopped just above her breasts. He looked intently into her eyes as his right hand slipped underneath the gown. The heart monitor immediately picked up an increase in her heart rate, evidence audibly by an increase in electronic beeps from the machine. He continued looking in her eyes, carefully reading the emotions that the eyes all too often give away, as his hand slid along the soft, silky skin of her chest. His fingers came to the first electrocardiographic lead and he slowly pulled it from her skin. As he withdrew his hand, he allowed his fingers to run over the contour of her left breast, ever so lightly touching her in the process. Ashley shifted in the bed slightly in response to his advances. He finished pulling the lead out and sat it on the bed beside her. He got up and turned off the monitor, tired of hearing the incessant beeping. 

Ashley just lay there, watching his every move, confusion still showing on her face. Lydecker sat back down on the bed.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, but my head feels a little fuzzy right now," Ashley responded.

"Just relax. I've got on more lead to remove and then it should be okay to sit you up." to sit you up."

Lydecker slipped his hand back under her gown. He ran his fingers around her right breast until he found the lead. He removed this one, too, and took advantage of the situation yet again. He didn't break eye contact this time, either. 

Ashley returned his gaze, trying to make sense out of what was happening. He looked very familiar.

 _I know you don't I?_ My head is too damn fuzzy. I'm in a hospital. Come on, _think. _One thing's for sure, this guy's no doctor.

"Trying to figure things out?" Lydecker asked. He had retrieved the last lead and placed it on the bed beside her, also. "Don't try too hard, you don't have the answers yet."

"Fine, then, where am I?" Ashley asked this mystery man.

"In a hospital," was Lydecker's short response.

"Really?" she asked, sarcastically. "Where? Why? What happened? And who the hell are you?"

"Ashley, one thing at a time. First, we're going to get you out of this hospital. We'll go over your questions later."

"Why not now? Where are you taking me?" Her concern came through with her tone of voice.

"You're in a stable condition now. No need for you to stay here. But, you're in no condition to be left alone just yet. So, I'm going to keep an eye on you."

"Keep an eye on me?" She sat up in bed, and the room started spinning around. She laid back down. "Oh, my head is pounding. I can't remember what happened."

"You suffered a head injury. Memory loss is common, though it should only be temporary. _Now_, I need to get you changed into something other than a hospital gown."

Lydecker looked in a cabinet and found what looked like a pair of gray scrubs. He tossed them on the bed. "There you go. I can help you get those on in a minute. I need to make a phone call first."

"You go right ahead and make your call. I'm pretty sure I can handle this on my own," Ashley replied.

"Take your time, I don't want you to get dizzy and fall off the bed," Lydecker said as he reached into his coat pocket and got his cell phone. He turned it on and punched in a number. He put it to his ear.

Ashley's head was clearing up little by little. "Hey, can't a girl get some privacy around here?"

Lydecker looked at her.

"I'm _not_ leaving this room." And that was that.

Lydecker turned away from Ashley as he spoke on the phone.

"This is Lydecker. Have a driver meet me on the east side entrance of the hospital in five minutes." He turned off the phone and turned back around. Ashley was struggling to get her gown off without totally exposing herself.

"Having trouble?" Lydecker asked smugly.

Ashley looked up to see _him_ staring at her again. 

"No, I'm fine."

She ducked under the sheet and reappeared a few minutes later out of breath, but with her scrubs on.

"Finished?"

"Yes, I am," Ashley said.

"Good. Now…" Lydecker walked over to the corner of the room and got a wheelchair and rolled it over to the bed. "…time to get you out of here."

Ashley looked at the wheelchair.

"Just a sec. I want to know one thing before I get into that chair."

" Not that you have much of a choice…What's the question?"

"What is your name? You seem familiar to me. And you obviously know who _I _am. I want to know who _you_ are."

"Donald Lydecker. Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"You said _one_ question."

"Humor me."

"Get in the chair. Our ride is waiting. We'll discuss this when we get there."

"Fine. And I don't need your help," Ashley said defiantly.

Lydecker took a step back, allowing her to stand up under her own power.

She stood up, and went to take a step forward when she lost her balance. Lydecker was ready. He caught her before she hit the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and placed her in the chair. Lydecker then wheeled her out to the waiting vehicle-a humvee.

"So, this is a military base, isn't it?" Ashley asked.

"Something like that," Lydecker answered, picking her up out of the wheelchair and placing her in the back seat of the humvee. He walked around to the other side and got in.

"Where to, colonel?' the driver asked.

Ashley looked over at Lydecker. _Colonel?_ She was so very close to remembering, but still unable to complete the process. It was very frustrating.

"My quarters," Lydecker ordered.

In Washington, D.C., at the FBI headquarters, things were very busy. They had lost contact with a field unit in Oregon, only to be informed by local law enforcement of several explosions at the area under investigations. That particular investigation was one of their high priority cases, and one of their best agents had been assigned to head it up. Additional agents had been in the process of being organized to be sent out there to lend a hand, but had been unavoidably delayed. A team was now on it's way to Oregon aboard a Leer jet.


	7. INVESTIGATIONS

6

INVESTIGATIONS

The doors to Renfro's office at Manticore opened, and she rushed in, looking at her watch. She was expecting something. As if on cue, her phone rang. She sat down in her chair and took a few seconds to compose herself. She answered the phone on the second ring. 

"Renfro."

"Have you made any progress?" the voice on the line asked.

"He's not cooperating, as usual."

"You expected him to?" the voice asked sarcastically.

"No, sir. Ever since…"

The voice cut her off. "We don't have time to rehash the past right now. Do I need to remind you about how urgent it is that we get this…situation resolved?"

"No, sir. I completely understand what's at stake here. The team I sent in, Echo Team, had some…problems, and they haven't arrived at their base in Cheyenne yet. They contacted me briefly from Oregon explaining the situation. They had a perimeter set up around the colonel and were closing in when some fighting erupted. Lydecker got his men out of there before my team could do anything. I gave them orders for strict radio silence until they arrive back at base in case Lydecker was monitoring channels. Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't arrived at Cheyenne yet. They're overdue."

"Fighting? Fighting between who?"

"I don't have details yet. Things are a bit sketchy right now. I'm trying to get things sorted out as quickly as I can."

"Try harder, Director Renfro."

"I'll get in touch with you as soon as any new information becomes available."

"You do that." The line went dead.

Renfro replaced the receiver back in it's cradle. She sat back in her chair and just stared at the phone. She hated being backed into a corner, especially when she couldn't see a way out. Why hasn't Echo Team checked in?

The intercom on her desk buzzed.

She turned it on. "What is it?"

"Ma'am, we just got word on Echo Team."

_Finally!_ "It's about time. What took them so long?"

"Well…"

"Never mind. Just connect me with Captain Sullivan."

"I can't, ma'am."

Renfro stood up and yelled, "You can't!?" Oh, no. She leaned forward over her desk, resting the palms of her hands on it, and in a much calmer voice she continued, "Why is that?"

"There's been an accident. No survivors. The whole team is dead."

Renfro closed her eyes and hung her head as if in defeat. She slowly sat back down in her chair and opened her eyes, a look of disbelief on her face. "The whole team," she said as she rubbed her forehead. She sighed. Can anything else go wrong today? "I want anything and everything from that helicopter to come directly to me. No one else sees it or hears it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. Your eyes only."

"Right. And if they have any trouble in Cheyenne with local law enforcement, call  me immediately."

"That won't be a problem, ma'am."

She chuckled. "Really. You say that with such certainty."

"It crash landed at the base, ma'am. We have complete control of the accident site."

Is there perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel? "Well, then I'm sure I'll be hearing from them soon."

"Yes, ma'am."

Renfro reached over and keyed the intercom off. Almost immediately, the intercom buzzed again. She turned it back on. "What?" she asked sternly.

"Director Renfro, there's a Sergeant Little here to see you. Says it's urgent."

_Little?_ I wonder. "Send him in."

The doors opened as the sergeant walked in. 

"Have a seat, sergeant." 

He did so.

"Now," she said, "what urgent business brought you here?"

"Ma'am, there's been an unauthorized visitor on base tonight."

_________________________

As the firemen were busy putting out the various fires, Sheriff Rollins and his deputies had been combing the area looking for clues. Their time was limited, so they had to move quickly. Rollins was looking over a van that had obviously been blown up. He hadn't seen this kind of destruction and damage since his stint in the Army in the Balkans. The memories that he had buried deep inside were resurfacing. It was a time in his life he would much rather forget. The senseless killing. Innocent lives lost. The children…He shook his head clear of those thoughts and tried to examine the inside of the van. Though the fire had been put out, the metal was still very hot. He leaned over, sticking his head through the gaping hole in the side of the van where a door used to be. Everything was burnt to a crisp. He pointed his flashlight to the right and saw computer consoles. This must have been a communications van. Too much high tech equipment _not_ to have been. Rollins decided to venture inside the van. He stepped up and in, careful not to touch anything.  The smell of burnt metal, plastic, and rubber was very strong. His lungs filled with the acrid smoke, and he began to cough. He pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and held it over his nose and mouth. There was another strong smell that he'd smelled somewhere before. It made his stomach turn. He turned to his left. It was the smell of burnt…flesh. He searched over the area with the beam of his flashlight. He gasped as he saw the bodies in the back of the van. _Jesus Christ!_ He quickly turned away and stumbled back out of the van. He lost his footing and fell. His flashlight flew out of his hand when he hit the ground, and bounced off to the left. Rollins just lay there for a few minutes, horrific images from the past and present flashing before his eyes. He got up and dusted himself off. He looked up and saw several men in suits at the site. Damn. And one of them was walking towards him. Rollins turned around as if he didn't see the man coming. He walked over to retrieve his flashlight. It was still on, it's beam shining brightly in the darkness. He stooped over to pick it up when he saws a piece of paper illuminated by it's light. There was something written on it. He wanted to pick it up, but the man in the suit would surely see him if he did that. So he did the next best thing. He cocked his head slightly to be able to make out the letters. L Y D E C K E R. 

"Sheriff Rollins?" the man asked as he walked up behind Rollins.

Rollins grabbed up the flashlight and turned around as if startled by the man's presence. "Yes?" Rollins answered warily.

"Sheriff Rollins, Agent O'Malley, FBI," the man said, extending his hand.

Rollins shook it.

"We talked on the phone. I thought I was pretty clear that you were not to do any investigating at this site. I am very tempted to charge you with obstructing and impeding a federal investigation, Sheriff. You have no jurisdiction here."

Like hell I don't. "Agent O'Malley, we weren't investigating here. You see, I have a very small fire department in my town. And they needed a little help up here. We didn't want these fires spreading. There are several houses not too far from here, Agent O'Malley. I didn't want those families put at risk."

"So, you and your men decided to help," O'Malley asked sarcastically.

"Of course. And with our _help_, all of the fires have been extinguished. We mostly made sure there were no flare ups after the fires were put out."

"Were there?"

Rollins looked at the agent. "No. But that was a real danger. So, I hope you can understand why we needed to help."

"What I _understand_, sheriff, is that you've been putting your nose where it doesn't belong. Now, you get your men and go back to the bottom of this hill and set up checkpoints like I told you to when we spoke on the phone. And I suggest you don't get any more cute ideas or _I will personally drop kick your ass into jail!_ You got it?"

"Yep, I do believe I read you loud and clear, Agent O'Malley. I'll have my deputies at the checkpoint in a few minutes. You have a nice day," Rollins said. He gave the agent one last smile and a pat on the shoulder as he walked off to find his deputies. Rollins wanted to burst out laughing at Agent O'Malley. The guy was about to explode, he was so mad. There's nothing worse you can do to an asshole like O'Malley than be nice and polite to him while he's chewing you out. It always drives 'em crazy. Rollins saw his deputies standing by their patrol cars. He walked over towards them.

"How'd it go, sheriff?" Deputy Foster asked.

"Oh, it went fine. You boys drive on down to the road and set up a checkpoint. That's the job we've been assigned to do."

"Did you find anything?"  
"I found some bodies. You boys?"

"Nope. Didn't have enough time."

"Figures," Rollins said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Well, you know what you're supposed to do. I'll have someone come and relieve you in the morning. I'm going to head back to town and get some shuteye. I'm getting too old for all this crap."

With that, Rollins got into his patrol car and headed down the hill. While he was driving, he pulled out a note pad and wrote down the letters he had seen scribbled on that piece of paper back at the van. L Y D E C K E R. "Lydecker," he said out loud. "Lydecker…I wonder what it means? I wonder if I should even bother with this?" He sighed. Maybe it's a name. Now there's an idea. A name. Possibly one of the agents that was killed? He'd have to check that out. _Lydecker_. There was something about it that was eating at him. He knew he'd heard this word somewhere before.


	8. A NEW HOME

8

A NEW HOME

"Let me guess, this is connected to Colonel Lydecker isn't it?" Renfro asked Corporal Little.

"Yes, ma'am. He had one of our choppers land at the base hospital. I assumed it was because one of his men was injured on a mission. Once I got off duty, I went by the hospital to see what had happened, but no one was there. I talked to the doctor that was on duty. It took a little persuasion on my part, but he finally told me that he treated a young woman that the colonel had brought in."

"A woman? What was wrong with her?"

"Head injury."

"And she's no longer here?"

"Well, she's still here. The colonel checked her out himself."

"And the good doctor, did he know anything else?"

"No ma'am. The colonel told him as little as possible. Basically, he told the doctor to treat her injury. That was it. No questions."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes, ma'am. I made it very clear that it would be in his best interest to cooperate."

"Corporal, if Lydecker threatened him, I doubt there was anything you could have said to get him to _fully_ cooperate."

"But the colonel had no reason to tell him very much about her, and the doctor would have been smart not to ask."

"Fine, then we leave the doctor out of this. So, where did Lydecker take her?"  
"I'm not sure, but he hasn't left the base."

Renfro stood up behind the desk. "Well, thank you for stopping by with this information. I'll handle it from here, corporal."

"Yes, ma'am," Corporal Little said. He, too, stood up and then took his leave.

_Deck, Deck, Deck_. What are you up to now? 

Renfro sat back down. She had a lot of planning to do.

__________

Lydecker wheeled Ashley into the living room and stopped the wheelchair beside the couch. Ashley was feeling better as each minute passed by, but she was a little hesitant to try getting up by herself. Her last attempt didn't go very well at all. Ashley hated having to ask for help, and Lydecker just stood over her, waiting for her to do just that-ask for his help. _Dammit. _

"Well, are you just going to stand there or what?" she asked. It wasn't quite asking for help. More of a suggestion.

"I assumed you'd want to handle this yourself."

"I really am not in the mood to fall on my face."

"I wouldn't let that happen."

"You don't know what a relief that is to me," she said sarcastically.

Lydecker didn't reply. He just stood there, waiting. Ashley wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but knew it wouldn't do any good. So, instead, she gave in. 

"Would you, please, help me out of this damn chair and over to the couch?"

Lydecker leaned over and did something Ashley wasn't expecting. She thought he'd just help steady her as she walked to the couch, but he picked her completely up out of the wheelchair. For some odd reason, Ashley noticed that this man that was holding her was in very good shape. She felt his muscles flex with each little move he made. She had put one of her arms around the back of his neck, which made her upper body rest against his chest. She could tell he didn't have to put much effort into carrying her. And she noticed something else-he smelled really good, too. _Oh my God! What the hell am I thinking?_

"Do you want to sit up or do you want to lay down?" Lydecker asked.

"Huh?" _Oh shit_, is he suggesting something?

"It's a simple question, Ashley."

"Um, I want to sit up."

Lydecker leaned over and sat her down so that she was sitting on the couch.

"Thanks."

He tilted his head, looking at her. "Your dizziness should be getting better," he stated as he took his seat beside her on the couch.

"Yeah, I think it is."

There was a long silence where neither spoke a word. Ashley was still rather uncomfortable about the way her thoughts had gone wild a few minutes ago. She had no idea where that came from, and she prayed that she displayed no visible signs of her emotions. The silence was unbearable. They needed _something_ to talk about.

"So, you said you would answer my questions after we got here. Well, we're here, and I have a lot of questions," Ashley said, feeling more at ease.

Lydecker turned his head and looked over at Ashley, examining her from head to toe. He frowned, cocking his head slightly to the left. "Any doctor will tell you that when you suffer a head injury with subsequent memory loss, you don't need to force the recall process. And you need to do it on your own, with as little intervention as possible from anyone else."

He paused, waiting for her reaction.

"You mean, you're not going to tell me _anything_?"

"I already told you your name. That didn't jog any memories?"

Ashley hesitated. "No." Then she added quickly, "But I need a little more to work with than that."

"I see. Well, being that we just met tonight, I really don't know a whole lot about you." Lydecker patted her on the knee as he got up. "Besides," he continued, "you need to get some rest tonight. Your bed is ready in the other room."

Ashley was not happy about the abrupt ending to their conversation, but she _was _tired. And she'd be sure to start this conversation up again in the morning. It might just be that I remember everything when I wake u tomorrow morning, anyway. That is something to look forward to.

She got up from the couch, still a bit unsteady, but perfectly capable of walking under her own power. She followed him to a room at the end of a hallway. Sure enough, the bed was already turned down, waiting for her arrival. Ashley knew this was _his _room, hence _his_ bed, but she didn't want to think about that right now. She just wanted to slip into a nice, warm bed, go to sleep, and wake up with her memory fully intact. She walked over to the bed and sat down.

Lydecker walked towards the doorway and turned around, as if surveying the room. Satisfied, he looked at Ashley and said, "If you need anything, I'll be…around."

With that, he turned off the light and walked out of the room, leaving Ashley all alone.

Gees, the man must not be used to having company. He didn't even tell me where the bathroom is. Ashley crawled under the covers and laid back. Her head sank into the soft, feather pillow. The bed was very comfortable. So, she settled into place and closed her eyes. 

It was very quiet in… What was his name? IT started with a D. Donald. Yep. It was very quiet in Donald's quarters. Ashley turned over onto her side and opened her eyes. She could hear him rifling through some papers. She looked over at the open doorway, wondering what he was doing. Without warning, he walked by the doorway. Ashley quickly closed her eyes so that he would think she was asleep, if he happened to look in the room.

_Damn, he was quiet_. She hadn't heard him approaching at all. She kept her eyes closed, assuming that he would walk back by. She was right. And again, she didn't hear him. But, the absence of light shining across her face, for that split second, let her know he had passed by. 

Ashley decided to keep her eyes closed and concentrate on trying to remember something. Anything. My name's Ashley. Or is it? Maybe he made up the name. Maybe he was trying to trick her. Or, maybe he didn't know her name either, so he just gave her one. Why am I being so paranoid? Do I even have a reason not to trust this man? What he said about memory loss sounded about right. So, my name's Ashley. Ashley what? 

Her thoughts were interrupted as Lydecker walked by again. She waited for him to return from where he came. It took several minutes this time, but the shadow returned across her face. Only this time, it stopped. He was standing in the doorway. _He's watching me!_ She kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep. She could just see him standing there; see those eyes staring at her. Now she heard him. He was _in_ the room. Her heart started beating so fast and pounding so hard, she knew he could hear it. Then, the shadow retreated and disappeared as he left the room. Ashley decided it was time to just go to sleep and tackle all of her questions tomorrow. But, before she could dose off, a phone rang. 

She heard Lydecker answer.

            "Lydecker… No, I'm awake… I told you it would be ready first thing in the 

            morning… No, I  don't want to discuss it now… Yes, I do… It's none of your

            damn business _who_ I have in my quarters with me tonight!"

There was nothing but silence filling the quarters as Ashley listened, wondering what the hell was going on. Before she knew it, Ashley had fallen asleep.

__________

"_No_!" Ashley yelled out as she sat upright in the bed. She was sweating, her heart pounding and her breathing fast and heavy. She swallowed hard and took in a deep breath, slowing her breathing and calming herself down. She looked around the dark room, remembering where she was. She'd had a dream about something that had happened to her. Something that scared her. 

The light in the hallway came on and Lydecker appeared in the doorway. It was quite evident she had woken him up with her scream. He was squinting as his eyes adjusted to the light that suddenly broke through the darkness.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Bad dream."

Lydecker sighed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

"A dream?" he asked, his tone more serious. "A dream about what?" he demanded.

"I don't remember, okay?" she shot back. "I… I don't remember," she repeated, her voice trailing off.


	9. SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

**9**

**SLEEPLESS NIGHTS**

Renfro was at her desk, fuming over her phone call with Lydecker. Who the hell does he think he is talking to me that way? And he certainly can't expect me to believe he's got a, a _girlfriend _with him right now. The last woman he had a relationship with was that Vertes woman. What he saw in her I'll never understand. And that was several years ago. Though when he's been away on various missions, I couldn't keep him under constant surveillance. Who knows, maybe Deck gets in a little action on the side. 

Renfro discarded that thought. 

One thing's for sure, though, that woman in his quarters is _not_ shacking up with him. But, whoever she is, Deck appears to be protecting her. 

Renfro picked up her phone and punched in several numbers. A sleepy voice answered.

"Winters speaking."

"This is Director Renfro. I know that Colonel Lydecker brought back an injured passenger to this base. Now, I want you to tell me who she is."

"Ma'am, this is not a secure phone line. We really shouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"We don't need a secure line for this. I just want a name."

"All of the information you need is in our written reports, ma'am."

"This can't wait until morning, Corporal. I need to know who you brought back from Oregon."

"Respectfully, ma'am, I can't give you that information. Any information about our missions has to be cleared through Colonel Lydecker…"

Renfro cut him off, "_Lydecker_ works for me, Corporal! Now, give me the name!" Her patience was growing rather thin now.

"Ma'am, I cannot do that over this phone line."

"Then report to my office, _now_, Corporal."

"It wouldn't do any good, ma'am. I have my orders."

"_I_ am giving you an order now, Corporal."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I cannot comply. I followed procedure when I compiled my written report and turned that over to the Colonel."

Renfro paused. "You're not going to budge, are you Corporal?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not."

"Fine. I'll find out one way or another. Oh, and Corporal…I will never forget this."

With that said, Renfro hung up the phone.

__________

_Damn_. Corporal Winters stared at the head set in his hand. He hung the phone up and thought about what just happened. 

She knew. Somehow, she knew. But how? I've got to call the Colonel.

Winters picked up the phone, using the secure line, to call the Colonel. He wasn't too keen on waking him up, but this was too important. There were three rings until the Colonel picked up.

"Lydecker."

"Colonel, this is Corporal Winters. I just got a call from Renfro. She mentioned Oregon."

"Very well," Lydecker said. And the line went dead.

__________

Renfro paced angrily around her office. She usually never paced, especially in the presence of other people. It was a sign of impatience. A sign of weakness. But no one was with her in her office right now, and she needed to work off some steam.

_Damn you Deck_. He was getting to be a very irritating…problem. A problem that she was not quite sure how to deal with. And his _men_. How they could be so damn loyal to him was beyond her. Lydecker always did consider Delta Team his. They were the elite team here at Manticore. Lydecker always treated them differently. He pushed them so hard, day in and day out, making their lives miserable; and yet there was no doubt that each of his men would give their life for him. Renfro just couldn't understand that at all. You have to look out for self _first_.  That was the only way to survive. 

Renfro decided to make one more call before calling it a night.

In Cheyenne, Major Edward's cell phone rang. "This is Major Edwards."

"Major, it's Renfro. How is the recovery operation going?"

"So far we've recovered the black box and a secure briefcase. Both of these items are locked up in our safe here on the base. I wasn't sure how you wanted to handle the transfer of these materials, ma'am."

"Keep it there for now, Major. I'll be heading over your way tomorrow. Until then, be sure to remember the last conversation we had."

"Yes, ma'am. All information is to be seen by you alone."

"Correct Major. You should be expecting me around lunch tomorrow, unless I contact you otherwise."

Renfro hung up the phone and gathered her things up in her office. She'd have to deal with everything tomorrow. Her day was finally over, and she was heading home for some much needed rest.

__________

Lydecker had given up on getting any sleep on this particular night. After going over field reports, taking care of Ashley and finally getting her to bed, and now dealing with Renfro, sleep was the last thing on Lydecker's mind. He was sitting on the couch in the living room. He had on jogging pants and a T-shirt, not the most comfortable thing to sleep in. He normally would be in his bed, wearing just his boxers, but with Ashley around he thought it better to be a little more discreet in the way he dressed. So here he was, trying to sleep on a couch that wasn't designed to be slept on in the first place. It was just as well that he couldn't sleep right now. 

So, Lydecker sat back on the couch in the dark, thinking about Renfro and what she was up to. She knew he went to Oregon. No one on his team would have told her that. _That _he was sure of. She could have been guessing, making it seem she knew what she really didn't know, trying to trick Winters into confirming her suspicions. Or, maybe she'd seen the news like he did and just assumed that's where they'd been. But, knowing Renfro, she let it slip that she knew about Oregon. She rarely thought before she spoke, especially when tensions were high. Hell, she probably didn't even realize she made the mistake.

Her overconfidence will be responsible for her downfall one day, and I'm going to be around to see it. 

That thought made Lydecker smile.

Now, figuring out _how_ Renfro knew was another matter. She could be very good at covering her ass sometimes. The fact that she's still alive was evidence of that. But, by hounding Winters like she did, she showed that she was desperate. 

If she keeps that up, my job will be _much _easier than anticipated.

It suddenly occurred to Lydecker how important those discs he had could possibly be. He and Ashley were the only two people alive that knew the discs had survived the explosion in Oregon. And, as of now, Ashley couldn't remember anything about that. Not even his men were aware of the discs. So, that knowledge was safe with him.

I just need to arrange things so that I can see what's on those discs.

Lydecker found the whole situation with Renfro amusing. The reports I have ready to turn in tomorrow…Lydecker looked at his watch. _Hmph_, actually that would be _today_. The reports I'll turn in this morning have a complete run down of their mission, leaving out the _minor _detail about he discs. She's gotten her panties all in a wad over nothing. I love seeing her squirm.

Lydecker thought about the report he had written about Agent McGee. It made it very clear that Agent McGee was _his_ problem. Lydecker made the personal decision to save her life. She would be interrogated by him if or when she got her memory back. The report stated that he was quite certain that Agent McGee had no knowledge pertinent to _their _investigation involving the lab. Agent McGee hadn't been there long enough to make heads or tails about what was really going on. There would be no problem keeping her existence at Manticore a secret being that she is presumed dead. No one is currently looking for her, nor will they. And, it may be that he will decide to _persuade_ her to stay on at Manticore working with him. She was a very talented agent, and he could put that to good use.

Lydecker allowed his mind to wonder a bit at that thought. Ashley was probably _very_ talented in other aspects of her life, too. Pursuing that angle will be very rewarding, no doubt.

After Lydecker's wife died, he'd been sure he would never be with another woman. But, a man has certain needs, and he addressed those needs whenever he needed to. He had a way with women. It wasn't something he worked on, it just happened, much to his enjoyment. He'd usually invite an attractive woman to dinner, and they always said yes. If he found the woman intelligent enough to carry on a descent conversation over dinner, he'd usually take her out a couple of more times. After about the third dinner, he'd almost always have her going back with him to his place for a 'nightcap'. It was amazing to him that these highly intelligent women could give him such pleasure. _Who would have thought that a scientist could be so very entertaining in the sack?_ And with a little coaxing, he could have her do just about anything he wanted. He really did know how to give a woman a good time.

Lydecker hadn't done that kind of thing in quite a while. His time was very limited these days, and he always kept his priorities straight.

But, with Ashley here, in his quarters, the possibilities presented before him were very encouraging. 

_All in due time. All in due time._

Lydecker laid back on the couch, figuring now was a perfect time to get some sleep, especially if his dreams follow his current line of thought.


	10. MEETING THE MORNING

**10**

**MEETING THE MORNING**

Located in Washington D.C. is a company called Phoenix Enterprises that spearheads cutting edge military research. It is a think tank that employs many of the best minds in the world. The U.S. military no longer made or designed their own weapons; they purchased them from Phoenix Enterprises. Phoenix Enterprises develops the latest and greatest weaponry found throughout the world, and has made a hefty profit from their sales of such state of the art weaponry.

Phoenix Enterprises' home office is located in a ten story building in D.C., a mere three miles from the Pentagon. The building itself is one of those that seemed to be completely made out of mirrors. Its mirrors had a copper tint to them. And every morning, the rising sun reflected brightly off of the east side of the building, making it stand out among the marble, stone, and brick that make up most of D.C. 

Phoenix employs around thirteen hundred people who work at the ten offices in various parts of the country. An additional three hundred field agents are also associated with the company. It is a huge company that wields a lot of power and influence in the United States.

On paper, Phoenix Enterprises, though much larger, seemed to be like the many other military research facilities operating in the United States. Actually, though, only about eight hundred of its employees are tasked with keeping the organizations façade intact. The real work at Phoenix Enterprises was done behind closed doors.

The President/CEO of Phoenix Enterprises was Marie Donovan, a middle aged woman who had built the company from the ground floor up. She had started Phoenix Enterprises with very little federal funding and had actually fronted a lot of the money needed to build a successful company herself. An inheritance left by her deceased parents funded this project of hers. The one thing that Marie Donovan never had to worry about was money. 

She played the part of a female CEO rather well. She could hold her own with the best of them, the majority of which were men. She was the wealthiest, most powerful female in the business world. And she wore the part well, too. She was tall and thin, with dark emerald eyes that mesmerized anyone who made eye contact with them. Her stylishly cut brown hair was short, accentuating not only the color, but the shape of her eyes as well. She had a very engaging personality, and her countenance was warm and pleasant. A highly intelligent woman, she could converse skillfully with a scientist from any number of fields, and then switchgears instantly to take a phone call from the President and accept a dinner invitation to the White House.

That was only _part_ of who she was, though. And very few people had seen the other side of her. Major Kerwin had been on the receiving end of her anger a few hours ago. Marie was not a happy woman right now. She'd been up all night trying to coordinate things. It was now morning, and the sun was already peeking over the horizon. Her office faced east so that she would see the sunrise every morning. It was always invigorating to her to see the sun rise in all its majesty. A new day was dawning, with new challenges and new possibilities. And she always had a front row seat. 

Her tenth floor office was a sanctuary of sorts, where she'd go to clear her head and devise her latest plans. But her tenth floor office would not be the backdrop for seeing her next guest. She'd handle that on sublevel five in her 'other' office. 

She walked over to her private elevator to make her way down to sublevel five. Once inside, she began thinking about all that had transpired over the last twenty-four hours. Last night's mission was thrown together at the last minute. No time had been available for much planning. She'd had to use assets she didn't like using-mercenaries she didn't know a damn thing about. 

But someone at that lab was a traitor and therefore the whole complex out in Oregon a liability. I _had_ to take care of it immediately, using whatever was available at the time. And those high priced mercenaries didn't come through. They failed to get the job done. I gave them two objectives-to get the discs and to destroy everything else. And what did I get?

The elevator doors opened, and Marie walked down the hallway towards her office. She passed through various security checkpoints along the way.

I hate failure. Can't stand it. Won't tolerate it. First things first, though. I need to calm Major Kerwin down and get him to start hunting for those discs. They're out there somewhere.

__________

Lydecker woke up at his usual time, 05:00, and began his morning routine. He went to his room and quietly got his jogging shoes out of the closet. He checked on Ashley who was still very much asleep, mumbling incomprehensibly. So, Lydecker went back to the living room, slipped on his shoes, and went out the front door. He set the security system that would keep Ashley locked in and everyone else locked out of his quarters. After a few minutes of stretching, he began his morning jog.

His daily jog wasn't as easy as it used to be. He'd worn out most of the cartilage in both of his knees over years of abuse. Most of the damage had been done when he was in the Army, but his stubborn insistence on continuing to jog wasn't helping any. He just couldn't see himself riding around on some damn bike. Jogging had become part of who he was, and he wasn't going to resort to the lower-impact cycling, bad knees or not. 

Lydecker decided to cut his jog a little short today because of Ashley being alone back at his quarters. He knew he couldn't watch her 24/7, but over these first few days he wanted to be around as much as possible. 

He made a quick stop at his office on his way back. He wanted to make copies of those discs he had, and not many people were ever around this early in the morning. Besides, he could start looking them over at his quarters. And it's always a good idea to have a backup. The copying didn't take long, and after he had locked everything back up, he began his trek back to his quarters.

Once he was back inside his quarters, he checked his watch-05: 30. Good. She should still be asleep, which means I can shower and shave and eat breakfast. _Damn!_ I should have gotten a change of clothes out last night. Now I've got to go back in my room. I'll just have to be really quiet.

Lydecker walked to the room and looked inside. Ashley was still in bed and appeared to still be sleeping. He walked on in and over to the closet. His pants and a shirt were easy to get to. He'd worry about the shoes later. Then, he walked over to his dresser and slowly slid open a drawer. It made a creaking noise, and he heard Ashley move around in the bed a little bit. He looked over at her, expecting her to be awake, but she wasn't. He grabbed a clean pair of socks and boxers and headed for the shower.

He took off his sweaty t-shirt and tossed it in the hamper. He reached into the shower and turned it on so it'd be nice and hot when he hopped in. As he was slipping off his jogging pants, he felt something in the pocket.

The discs. I can't just leave these lying around. He fished them out of the pocket they were in. He then tossed the pants into the hamper, walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and went to the office. He put the discs in another one of his hidden safes. When he walked back out of the office, the hallway light came on and Ashley was standing in front of the bathroom door.

Ashley began knocking on the door. "Hey, Donald, are you almost finished? I, um, kind of need to use the…"

Lydecker spoke up, "Head?"

Somewhat startled, Ashley quickly turned and looked down the hallway to see Lydecker standing there, wearing nothing but his olive drab boxers. Ashley didn't know what to say, and she felt a flash of heat travel up her neck and face. She could only hope that Donald couldn't see it from where he was.

"I, I thought you were in there," she said, pointing to the bathroom door.

Lydecker chuckled and started walking towards her. "I was, but I had to take care of something in the office. I thought you were asleep."

He walked up right beside her. Ashley just stood there, frozen in place.

"You can go ahead."

"What?" she asked.

Lydecker smiled. "You can go on in there. I'll wait."

"Oh, yeah," she said as she reached for the door handle. "Thanks."

Suddenly Lydecker raised his right arm and blocked the doorway, making it so that their bodies were almost touching. Ashley didn't move, and she kept her eyes locked on the doorknob in front of her, not wanting to look at him. And she felt yet another hot flash envelope her face and neck.

Then Lydecker spoke softly, "Just don't take too long."

Ashley felt his warm breath on her neck, and a chill went down her spine.

Lydecker lowered his arm, which allowed Ashley to go into the bathroom. And she did, quickly. She closed the door, without looking at him, and locked it. Ashley looked at her face in the mirror. It was beet red. 

Wonderful. Just because a guy rescues you doesn't mean you have to fall all over yourself when you're around him. _Jesus!_

She turned on the cold water in the sink and splashed a little water on her face. She looked up at her self in the mirror again and saw the huge bandage wrapped around her head. 

Wait a minute! He _rescued_ me. She stared at the mirror. I was hurt, in pain, lying on the cold ground. It was dark out. Then she remembered seeing Donald lean over her. He said something, but she couldn't understand what. Then he picked me up in his arms. 

Ashley continued staring intently at the mirror, trying to remember some more. But that was evidently all she was going to get for now. As she finished up in the bathroom, she decided she'd keep this to herself for now. When she opened the door, Lydecker was standing there in the hallway, waiting. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"I went as fast as I could," she said while walking to the bedroom. " I think I'll lay back down for a little while now."

Lydecker looked over his shoulder and watched her disappear into the bedroom. He smiled, thinking about the day when he'd be _following_ her into that bedroom.

Ashley called out from the bedroom, "Donald, you take as long as you'd like in the shower. Don't worry about me. I'm just going to be here relaxing."

Lydecker frowned. Where'd that come from? He walked into the bathroom. A few minutes ago I had her blushing and she was a nervous wreck, and now she's kidding around?

As Lydecker showered and shaved, he thought about this sudden change in her mood, and the only thing he could think of that would do this was if she remembered something. And, if that's the case, she's keeping it to herself. Smart girl.

As he got dressed, he began thinking about what this will mean. It will definitely complicate matters. Now that she's started remembering things, she could possibly have her memory completely restored in a few more days. 

Maybe it's time I play my first card.


	11. CHAIN OF EVIDENCE

**CHAIN OF EVIDENCE**

Agent O'Malley and his team of agents combed the explosion site throughout the night for any evidence left behind by whoever was responsible for the attack in Oregon. Any bodies they found had already been tagged and sent off for identification, if that was at all possible. And so far, the only bodies that had been found were the ones in the van. Calling the remains 'bodies' was a bit of a stretch. They actually only found body _parts_.  No one was quite sure how many 'bodies' had been in the van, but it looked like there were at least three.

As for the main underground explosion, there wasn't anything left there either. The bombs used were very elaborate incendiary devices. And these bombs had the desired result-complete destruction. If anyone got what they were looking for after this explosion, they were lucky. And, they were long gone. The only other physical evidence, besides the bodies, that had been found were shell casings scattered over the area. There had been a major firefight between someone here. All of the casings found were given to Agent O'Malley and he put them in a briefcase, locked it, and placed it aboard one of the helicopters.

The agents were still spread out over the area looking for any more evidence. But, they were now facing a deadline of sorts. A major storm system had been building in the Pacific Ocean and was bearing down on them. They would have to clear out of the area before it hit, and everyone knew that once it came it would wash away any evidence that hadn't been found by them.

The wind had picked up a considerable bit, with gusts around 45 miles per hour and climbing. Dark clouds were looming in the distance, advancing ever closer to the body of agents at work at the site. 

Agent O'Malley called his people together. "All right people, looks like this is it. Pack it up, and let's get the hell out of here. Oh, and one of you go tell our friends at the bottom of the hill that we're finished here."

In about fifteen minutes the helicopters lifted off to head to their jet and then back to D.C., and the Sheriff's Deputies drove away to go home and get some sleep. 

__________

Back in D.C., all of the evidence, which didn't amount to very much, was loaded into Agent O'Malley's car. He decided to deliver it to the lab personally. It was on his way home, anyway. 

While they loaded his car and made records of everything, O'Malley stepped away from the group of agents and made a short phone call on his cell phone. Five minutes later, he was on the road to the FBI lab. It was a long drive, and on the way O'Malley needed to make a stop for a bathroom break.

_You drank too much coffee. But, without the coffee I'd probably be asleep. Oh, well_.

He saw a gas station that had a sign outside that said 'Clean Restrooms'. _Yeah, right_. He pulled around the side and parked the car. He locked the doors and went inside the store. To his surprise, the bathrooms were actually clean. After he relieved himself, he got another cup of coffee since he now had room in his bladder to accommodate it. He looked around for a few minutes for something to eat, but nothing really appealed to him. So, he paid for the coffee and walked back outside to his car.

When Agent O'Malley walked up to his car, he couldn't believe his eyes. The windows had been busted out of it. He yanked open the door and looked inside. Both of the radios were gone, but more importantly, all of the evidence had been stolen, too. O'Malley smiled. He pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and made a call.

"This is O'Malley. Listen, I need you to contact local law enforcement for me. I'm at…" 

He looked at the front of the gas station for an address.

"Damn, no address. Look, I'm at a little gas station on…never mind. I'll get the clerk inside to call the police. Some punks must have broken into my car. They got the radios, but that's not what I'm concerned about. They also took the evidence from the Oregon investigation. A lot of it was in metal briefcases. They probably thought they hit the jackpot thinking there was something valuable in them. They're going to be really disappointed once they find out what they actually got. Anyway, like I said, let me get things going from the local side here, and I'll get back with you."

O'Malley hung up the phone. He then made one more call. This one was very short.

"The pickup was successful and the package is in route."

He hung up the phone and put it away. He jogged into the store with his badge out and started barking orders to the clerk behind the counter.

__________

Lydecker was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Over the years he had learned how to handle himself pretty well in the kitchen. He didn't ask Ashley if she wanted anything. The smells of bacon, eggs, and coffee filling the quarters should be enough to get her out of bed and hanging around the kitchen. _If she's hungry, she'll ask for something_.

Sure enough, about five minutes after he started cooking, Ashley appeared in the kitchen. Lydecker smiled.

"You look like you're feeling better this morning."

"Uh-huh," Ashley mumbled, "I don't suppose you're fixing enough for two?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you'd be up to eating this morning, so…"

Ashley interrupted, "You should have known…"

Lydecker held up his hand as a sign for her to stop talking. She did.

"You didn't let me finish. I was about to say that I went ahead and cooked enough for you just in case you wanted to eat. Now," Lydecker continued as he flipped over an omelet, "go sit down at the table. It'll be a few more minutes."

As was most always the case with Lydecker, when he spoke, people listened and did what they were told without question. Ashley went over and sat down at the table. She looked at Lydecker standing over the stove, stirring something. He seemed to be ignoring her.

_Fine, I don't want to talk anyway_.

Lydecker looked up from what he was doing and saw Ashley sitting at the table fiddling with her fingers. She closed her eyes and began rubbing her forehead.

"Do you need something for the pain?"

Ashley looked at him. "Yeah, I could use something. My head is really throbbing right now."

"T he doctor figured you'd need something," Lydecker said as he walked towards the table with a glass and a pill bottle, "so, he gave me these pills for you to take." He sat the glass of water on the table and opened the bottle. He poured two pills out into his hand. "These should help," he said as he extended his open hand with the two pills in it.

Ashley reached forward and picked up the pills from out of his hand. "What are they?"

"Darvocet."

Lydecker watched as Ashley swallowed the pills. He ran his hand along his jaw line and chin. He reached down and grabbed the two front legs of the chair that she was sitting in and turned the chair so that she was facing him.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to unwrap your bandage and check your head wound," Lydecker said as he leaned forward and began unwrapping the bandage.

"What about the food?"

"It'll be fine. This won't take long."

Lydecker took a few minutes examining the stitches in Ashley's head. It looked pretty good and it wasn't even oozing.

"Well?"

"It looks good. I'm going to hold off on putting another bandage on it for a while."

Lydecker took a small step back and, to Ashley, appeared to be staring at her breasts.

"I should probably take a look at your other wound, too."  
"That's all right. They're fine," Ashley quickly replied. She really didn't want to take off her shirt right now, especially in front of him. _Talk about awkward_.

Lydecker couldn't help but smile. Without a word he grabbed up the soiled bandages, walked to the kitchen, and discarded them in the trashcan. After a few minutes he spoke up.

 "Well, then, I believe breakfast is ready," he announced as he finished up in the kitchen. He brought a plate to the table for Ashley and sat it down in front of her. Lydecker just stood there for a minute, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. He walked back to the kitchen and grabbed up his plate and two empty coffee mugs. He returned to the table and sat everything down and proceeded to pour each of them a cup of coffee from the coffee maker that had a permanent spot on the table.

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Black."

Lydecker nodded approvingly as he sat the coffee mug in front of Ashley. He then sat back and took a sip of his own coffee.

"I thought you said you were hungry?" Deck said as he watched Ashley push her food around on her plate with her fork. He picked up his fork and began eating while he read over some papers he had brought to the table, essentially appearing as uninterested as possible in Ashley and her antics.

"I am. It's just that…" Ashley stopped mid-sentence and stuck a fork full of food in her mouth. 

Lydecker took in a deep breath and sighed audibly. He looked up from his papers. _Game time._

"I know that you're very frustrated right now, Ashley." He paused and took another sip of his coffee. "I tell you what, after breakfast we'll sit down and I'll see what I can do to help you out."

Ashley looked up at Lydecker. 

"Really?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice and a smile that started creeping across her face.

"Don't get too excited. I'm not giving you the whole story, just a little help. You're still going to have to fill in the blanks."

"Sure. I understand. But, still, this is great."

Ashley began practically devouring the food on her plate. It didn't take long before all of the food was gone. Lydecker watched in amazement, as Ashley seemed to inhale her food. He patiently ate his food and waited for her to say something else. He wanted her to keep talking. He looked at the papers, pretending to ignore her. Ashley finished her last bite and took a swig of coffee.

"You know, I think I remembered something this morning. It might be nothing, but…"

_I knew it_. Lydecker looked at Ashley with a scowl on his face. He worded his reply to make it seem as if her revelation wasn't that important to him. "I'm trying to finish reading these papers. We'll talk about it after breakfast, like I said."  Lydecker went back to reading the papers and eating the rest of his breakfast.

_Damn. I irritated him. Ok, Ashley, just keep your mouth shut. The last thing I need is for him to change his mind about helping me today._ She reached over and poured herself another cup of coffee and went ahead and topped Lydecker's off while she was at it. She sat back and sipped at her coffee, waiting, rather impatiently, for Lydecker to finish his breakfast.

Lydecker wanted to laugh, or at least smile right now, but he didn't. He kept 'reading' his papers and finished his breakfast. Ashley probably thought he was mad at her. Now she was going to be really nice and really quiet around him until she go the 'help' he promised.

His phone rang. Lydecker picked it up.

"Lydecker."

There was  a pause as he listened to whoever was on the other end.

"Very well. And, I won't be going to the office today. Stop by on your way in and pick up these reports for Renfro."

Lydecker hung up the phone. He stood and gathered up the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. The coffee mugs he left out because he figured they would both need more coffee throughout the day. He came back and picked up the papers he had been reading and disappeared down the hallway.

Ashley was left alone at the table wondering what to do next. She really wanted to get started on this whole 'memory' thing.

Lydecker reappeared with a sealed envelope tucked under his arm and a notepad in his left hand. He walked over into the living room and sat down on the couch. He waited a few minutes before speaking.

"Ashley, I was thinking you would join me. It's going to take both of us for this to work."

Ashley snatched up their two coffee mugs and went to the living room as fast as her wounded body would allow. She walked up to Lydecker and stood in front of him holding out the coffee mug for him.

Lydecker looked up at this beautiful young woman standing in front of him, and, starting with her hips, his eyes slowly worked their way up until they made contact with hers. He reached out for the mug, allowing his hand to envelope hers as he slipped the mug out of her hands. 

He nodded to his right. "Have a seat."

__________

Marie Donovan sat in her underground office watching a twenty-four hour new channel. She had just been notified that Major Kerwin would be delayed for their meeting. Something urgent had come up with on of his operatives that he had to take care of right away. And it had something to do with the Oregon mission. Evidently, wherever this particular operative was, Major Kerwin didn't have to go far for this trip. It was going down not too far from here, in D.C. And Marie had been promised some good news as a result of this trip.


	12. BUILDING TRUST

****

CHAPTER 11

BUILDING TRUST

Major Kerwin drove up to the prearranged meeting place-an abandoned parking lot in downtown D.C. He took a few minutes and surveyed the area, making sure that there would be no surprises, as he circled the block a couple of times. He was still uneasy considering the suddenness of this meeting. But, sometimes situations like this just couldn't be avoided. 

He entered the parking lot and stopped the truck. He got out of his vehicle and walked over to what used to be a guard shack. He leaned up against the side of it and waited. He looked at his watch. In five minutes his visitor should arrive. He rarely dealt with this individual, but when he was in a bind, this guy always came through for him. 

Kerwin heard a vehicle approaching. He looked back down at his watch. _Right on time. It's too bad everyone I deal with doesn't operate in such a timely, professional fashion_. Kerwin walked forward and motioned for the guy to pull up beside his truck.

Kerwin walked over and opened the passenger side door to his truck, allowing the man to put the briefcases and other evidence he had lifted out of a FBI agent's car inside the truck. Kerwin handed the man an envelope.

"Thanks."

"Hey, man, for this kind of dough, you can call me anytime."

After the exchange was complete, they both got into their respective vehicles and drove away.

__________

Ashley sat down beside Lydecker, trying her best to shrug off the feelings that ran rampant inside her body. _My head wound must be affecting my emotions. That has to be why I'm having these thoughts and feelings_. The way he looked at her a lot of times didn't help with those feelings she was struggling with. At least this way she didn't have to look directly at him.

"So, where should we start?" Ashley asked.

"We start with what you remember and build on that."

Ashley nervously rubbed her sweaty palms on her knees and stared straight ahead.

"Ok." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. _Here we go_. "I remember it being dark. I'm lying flat on my back on the ground. It's cold out, and the ground is very cold. I'm looking up at the stars. I can't move. I'm in pain. Then you just kind of appear. You're leaning over me. You say something, but I can't hear you. Then you bend down and pick me up. I guess I just passed out or something after that." Ashley paused, then continued, "You saved my life, didn't you?"

"If I had left you there, you would have either bled to death, or they would've killed you like they did the others."

Ashley didn't reply to Lydecker's last revelation. She waited a few minutes to try and let what he just said sink in. _Killed?_ _Who are 'the others'?_ She got a very sick feeling in her stomach. _This cannot be good_.

Lydecker looked over at Ashley as she was clearly trying to sort out what he had just told her.

"The others. Were they people I knew, friends or colleagues? Or, where they total strangers?"

Lydecker thought about how best to answer her question. He wanted her to remember that night without too much interference by himself. On the other hand, this is exactly the situation he was hoping for. He was certain she would gain her full memory back within the next few days. However, she was unaware of the exact circumstances surrounding the attack that took place in Oregon. Here was the perfect opportunity to feed her whatever information he saw fit. The key will be to gain her trust. Then she won't question _anything_ he tells her.

"You worked with those people. As to how close you were to them, I honestly can't answer that because of having met you for the first time that night."

"This is crazy. You mean to tell me people that I know _died_, and here I can't remember anything about them? Did we have dangerous jobs or something? Was there a terrible accident?"

"The job you had…yes, there were known risks that came with it. You and your colleagues knew that and evidently accepted that very fact. I can tell you that there was nothing you could have done to stop it. There probably wasn't anything you could've done to prevent it in the first place. So, don't start beating yourself up over it, especially since you can't remember what happened."

Lydecker reached over and patted Ashley on her knee in an 'it's going to be all right' kind of way. That helped a little, but Ashley's frustration was still very apparent.

"Maybe this will help. I work for a branch of the DOD. We were en route to Oregon because of an ongoing investigation that warranted our attention." Lydecker paused before going on. "I was going there to meet with _you,_ Ashley." He made sure to look her in the eyes as he spoke his last sentence so that he would be able to see her initial reaction. It was exactly what he was expecting.

Lydecker had Ashley's full attention now. She was very happy that Donald was trying to help her out. She felt she was on the verge of having all of her memories come rushing back. But, his last sentence caught her off guard. Donald had turned and was staring intently into her eyes when he said it. She felt that all too familiar warm, flushed feeling consume her body. She quickly found something else to look at since she could no longer meet his gaze. The floor would have to do.

Lydecker took a sip of his coffee and smiled. He then sat the mug down on the end table that was beside the couch. _Time to build on that trust a little more_. He slid over so that he was right beside Ashley. He put his left arm behind her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He felt her body tense up under his arm. He looked down at her, trying to get a good look at her face, but she was still staring at the floor.

__

Oh, dear God. What is he doing? Just breathe. Just breathe and keep looking at the floor.

"Ashley, you need to relax. Am I moving too fast?"

__

Too fast? Where the hell does he plan on going with this? "Um, I'm not sure."

"Well, if you need a break just let me know. It may be that you are not ready for all of this information yet."

__

Oh, so that's what he's getting at. Thank God! She relaxed somewhat upon this realization. "No. No, I'm fine. I want to keep going."

Lydecker moved his arm from behind her shoulders and went to stand up. "I think a break is in order."

But, as he was standing up, Ashley reached up and grabbed his hand. This took Lydecker a little bit by surprise, being that he could tell she was still rather uncomfortable around him. But, maybe his efforts at gaining her trust are beginning to pay off.

"Don't stop yet. Please," she pleaded

.

He looked down at her, the pain of not knowing clearly evidenced by the expression etched across her face. It, not doubt, affected her more than any of her other injuries. He looked over at his hand, which was clasped tightly by both of Ashley's hands. Ordinarily, he would just walk away and stick to his decision to take a break. But, for some reason, he didn't leave. He stayed there standing over this woman who desperately needed _his _help to start putting the pieces of her life back together. A woman who held onto his hand as if letting go would mean that all would be lost. She needed him. She trusted him, in effect putting her life in _his_ hands. He knelt down in front of her, making sure not to pull his hand away from her. He let their hands come to rest in her lap.

"Ashley, you know that it is in your best interest not to rush this. But, we'll continue on for a few more minutes. Then, I'm going to want you to go and get some rest. The rest will probably aid you in this whole process of trying to recall certain points of your past. I want you to agree that you _will_ go and rest after we're through."

"Ok, I'll go rest."

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Then Lydecker went on to choose his words carefully.

"I'm not going to give you all the details surrounding what I am about to tell you. You'll need to fill in the blanks on your own. It's better that way. What I'm going to tell you will give you the _big _picture. Now, your name is Ashley McGee. You are a federal agent and were in the middle of conducting a very important investigation. You were the lead agent in this particular investigation. You are here at this base under our protection because of what happened the other night and because your life is still in danger. We do not know who was responsible for this, but we have several suspects, including the agency that you work for. So, it's best that you stay here for the time being. You're very safe here, trust me."

Though still confused, Ashley knew that she did feel safe here, especially around Donald. _He seemed to be very concerned about her. Was his concern sincere? Or, did he perhaps have other motives? He said that he was supposed to meet me about the investigation, whatever the hell that was. What if I know something that he needs to know, but, along with everything else, I simply can't remember it?_

Lydecker watched her closely as she proceeded to think about all that she'd been told. He fully expected a memory or two coming back within the next few minutes.

__

But, that doesn't feel right. The concern is genuine. I may not have my complete memory back, but I can still read people. Though Donald definitely isn't an open book, he… Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted, but she didn't mind this interruption. 

"FBI."

"Are you sure?" Lydecker asked, not really that surprised by her sudden statement.

"I think so. It just hit me. I'm a… special agent for the FBI," Ashley said, her face beaming with pride and satisfaction at having come to this conclusion so quickly. She _was_ getting her memory back. It was about damn time, too.

___________


	13. GATHERING INFORMATION

CHAPTER 12

GATHERING INFORMATION

Renfro had gotten up early, as planned, and was on board a chopper headed for the base in Cheyenne. She hated getting up early. _Why on earth would anyone want to get up before sunlight_? But, she had learned to live with it considering her current profession and her desire to ascend the chain of command in record speed. There was this huge part of her that wanted, actually _needed_, to be in charge. She resented having to answer to anyone. 

"Ma'am, we're getting close. I've tried to raise the tower a few times and I've gotten nothing but static," the pilot announced over the head set.

"Have you tried all of our current channels?"  
"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, try again, captain."  
"Yes, ma'am."

__

'Ma'am'. _Now **that's** the way a subordinate should answer her_. And Deck flat out refuses to address her properly. _Bastard_. He's the one who dropped the ball in '09 and allowed her to slip right by him, putting her in a prime position to achieve her ultimate goal. Manticore would thrive under her complete control and direction.

"Ma'am, we have a problem."

"What is it?" _Now what?_

"Look out your window at 2 o'clock, ma'am."

Renfro did so and stared in disbelief at what she saw. It looked like a war zone down at the facility. Down at _her_ facility.

"Get us down there _now_, captain."

"Ma'am, I'm not so sure that's such a good idea. We didn't come outfitted to handle any kind of engagement. We'd be sitting ducks." _Hell, we might **already** be sitting ducks._

"I don't see anyone that looks hostile on the ground, captain. I want us down there, now."

__

Just because you can't see them… "With all due respect, ma'am, we have no intel on the situation down there. We could _already_ be in danger."

That got her attention.

"Fine. Get us back to Gillette. And make yourself useful by contacting HQ to get some men out here _to_ find out what's going on. Oh, and captain, keep trying to hail Cheyenne. If you get in touch with someone, you _will_ turn us back around. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." _Why the hell did I get stuck flying this bitch around?_

__________

Major Kewin had a busy morning. After meeting with his contact and getting possession of all the evidence the FBI had acquired from Oregon, he immediately turned his attention to overseeing an early morning attack on a Manticore facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming. That particular facility had been one of two final destinations that Kerwin had tracked a few helicopters from the Oregon site to. The attack had gone well. The team he sent in only ended up with one fatality and three casualties. The security force there at Manticore didn't fare well at all. They had been caught totally off guard and had fallen into a state of confusion and panic when the attack began. His men were able to get in and out in under an hour. And, they got what they had come for-the information gathered at the Oregon site by the men in the helicopter. His men had notified him by radio that there wasn't much, but they made sure they got everything that there was. They made a point to tell him that there were no discs to be found.

Marie Donovan wouldn't be happy about that. She had convinced herself that they hadn't been destroyed back in Oregon by the explosion. So, now he was tasked with finding out where they are and retrieving them. But, for now, he was back at Phoenix on his way to meet with Marie with an update on the morning's activities.

As he took his seat in her office, Marie offered him a cup of coffee. _No one ever said she wasn't a gracious hostess._ But Kerwin knew all too well that she would switch gears momentarily. 

"No, thanks. I've had three cups already today. That should keep me going for a while."

"Suit yourself. This is imported directly from Columbia. And it's been blended with my particular taste in mind."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I've got a lot of work to do, Ms. Donovan. So, if we could get on with this…"

"I like that about you, major. Strictly business. So, any progress made this morning?"

"We've got the evidence from the FBI and one of the Manticore facilities."

"And the discs?"

"They haven't turned up yet."

"I pay you for results, major, and that's what I expect."

"I still have the facility in Gillette to consider."

"Good. When will you proceed?"

"I'm working on it."

"I expect it will be soon. You didn't seem to have any trouble with their other place in Cheyenne."

"This is different."

"How so?"

"It's got better security, for one thing."

"Well, figure it out and get in there, major. And if you find the discs, bring them back to me."

"If they're out there, I'll find them."

"Oh, they're out there, major. I want that facility turned inside out. You understand?"

"That will be difficult, at best."

"Why's that?"

"It's a full blown military base. I'm not exactly sure how many troops they have, but it's more than enough to have me concerned about any action we take against it."

"So, it can't be taken?"

"No, ma'am. It _can_. But I'll need some time to really plan a successful operation."

"Well, let me stress to you that time is not something you have a lot of. So, I suggest you get right on this. Oh, and good work, by the way, on today's successes. I can see that I made a great move when I recruited you."

"Than you, ma'am."

"And anything you need…"

"I'll be sure to let you know."

Kerwin walked out of the office, his mind already working on a plan. He was now officially in what he liked to call 'operation mode'. This operation wouldn't be easy. He'd already done some checking on the security force at Manticore. It was impressive. And the guy in charge, Donald Lydecker, was a former Army Colonel. His record with the Army was outstanding when it came to successful missions. He was a professional, and he ran a tight ship at Manticore. _This mission is definitely going to put my skills to the test._

__________

Lydecker was in his office attempting to gain access to the information on the discs when his phone rang.

"Lydecker."

"Sir, it's Lieutenant Spencer. I have an update for you."

"Go ahead."

"Well, sir, it's about your guest, Agent McGee. Through our various sources I've found out that she's been working on a case involving that Oregon lab for about a year. So, it wasn't by mistake that she had been sent there. Sir, she supposedly had a contact on the inside at that lab."

"I see. Well, keep following that. I want you to find out everything you can about her connections with Oregon."

"Will do. But, I'm not sure how much farther I can go with this. A lot of people involved with this have ended up dead."  
"Just do what you can."  
"Yes, sir."

Lydecker hung up the phone. Ashley was in his room 'resting'. More than likely this involved racking her brain for more detailed memories from her past. He remembered what he told her earlier about her being in danger, and that the danger could actually be from her own side. With what he just learned, that statement might not be far off from the truth. Someone assigning her and any of her team that was privy to the ongoing investigation to Oregon would not seem out of the ordinary. And, it would make it very easy to tie up loose ends.

Now he wanted even more to get inside her head and see how much she really knows about this whole thing. _She may be of more use than I originally thought_. And, with this information available to him, it would be much easier to get her to cooperate. She was beginning to trust him and, therefore, becoming more comfortable around him. _There's nothing like an accusation of betrayal from within to get someone to want to get to the bottom of it all. And, the added benefit of cooperating leading to possible payback never hurts, either._


	14. Giving In

CHAPTER 13

****

GIVING IN

Ashley had spent the majority of the morning deep in thought as her memories came flooding back. There were still a few gaps, but, overall, she felt pretty good about what she had accomplished in one morning. Donald had been shut up in his office all morning, unavailable for questions. That was ok since she was piecing everything together so that she would know what _important_ questions to ask later on. Now, though, she was hungry, and on her way to the office door to see what Donald was up to and to ask him about dinner. Time had slipped by today so quickly that she didn't even realize she had missed lunch until she saw a clock that announced the time as 18:35. Standing in front of the office door, she tried the doorknob, but it was locked. That was no big surprise. Everything seemed to be locked around here. So, she raised her hand to knock on the door when she heard something. _Had the door been unlocked_? She waited a few seconds, but the door never opened. She tried the doorknob again, and this time it was unlocked. Did he know she was out here? _How **could** he know I'm out here_? Shrugging, she pushed open the door, peeking her head in. 

Donald was sitting behind his desk, looking her way. He had on glasses now. She didn't remember seeing him in glasses before. They made him look…different. Nicer, maybe, though _nicer_ wasn't the word she was looking for. She liked him in glasses.

"Come in," Lydecker invited.

She proceeded to do so, but quite hesitantly. She surveyed the office briefly. It was spotless, but rather plain. No pictures anywhere, but he had some very impressive computer equipment in the room. His work was his life. _That _was quite apparent. Her gaze was immediately drawn back to the man sitting behind the desk, with those _glasses_ on. _Damn he looked good_. He was staring at her, probably wishing he could read her mind. _Wouldn't you like that?_

"Did you get any rest?" he asked.

She smiled. "Not exactly. Did you really expect me to?"

Lydecker's facial expression changed, slightly. He was still smiling, but his eyes said something else. _Was it worry?_

He stood up. "Good. Why don't we go to the living room and talk about it. I'm sure you have questions."

__

You really want to know what I've remembered, don't you? _So, the ball's in my court now. Guess you'll just have to wait. Lord knows I did my fair share of waiting._ "Actually, I was hoping that could wait."

Lydecker was no longer smiling. He took off his glasses. "Why?"

__

Oh, I touched a nerve there. He took his glasses off. Put the glasses back on. I like the glasses.

He walked around from behind the desk towards her. She could definitely tell he wasn't thrilled with her last statement. She took a cautious step back, bumping into the wall behind her. He came right up to her.

"I figured you'd want a few things cleared up," Lydecker persisted. 

Ashley quickly spoke up, "I do. I'm just really, _really _hungry. I guess it's all this thinking I've been doing. Must've worked up an appetite," she added with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood.

Lydecker looked at his watch. _18:40_- it was later than he realized. "Very well. We can take care of this later," he concluded. He disappeared down the hallway, leaving Ashley alone in his office. 

She hadn't moved yet, her back still against the wall. She looked around the office and considered snooping some, but she never got the chance. Lydecker suddenly appeared back in the office. He motioned towards the door.

"Coming?"

"Sure thing," she replied as she headed out the door.

Lydecker fell in line right behind her, closing the office door as he exited the room. It locked automatically upon being closed. He watched her walk in front of him. She moved much more confidently than she ever had around him. And her conversation in the office bordered on being playful. She was definitely more comfortable around him now, which meant her memory had to be more intact than it was even this morning. Add to that the fact that she wasn't in a hurry to ask any questions… She walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, looking very comfortable and relaxed. He wondered what she really thought of him.

He went over and picked up the phone to call the mess hall and order dinner. He didn't bother asking Ashley what she wanted. In fact, the thought didn't even occur to him to _ask_. He ordered two chef salads without giving it a second thought.

"Dinner will be here in a few minutes," he announced.

"Great. I'm starving," she replied. After a short pause, she added, "So, what are we having?"

"I ordered a couple of chef salads," he answered, all the while observing her from the kitchen area.

She could feel him staring at her. Actually, she didn't really mind that he seemed so interested in her. What _exactly_ that interest entailed was still a mystery to her. Hell, she didn't _exactly_ understand the feelings _she_ had when _he_ was around _her_. 

Ashley looked over at Lydecker. "I don't really like salad."

Lydecker's eyes narrowed. _She couldn't be serious_.

"_Gotcha_!" she said, laughing. "Just kidding, Donald. Salad is fine. Though you might want to ask if I like something before you order next time." She turned back around, still smiling.

Lydecker could tell she was smiling, even though his view was of the back of her head. He couldn't resist. He walked over behind the couch and placed his hands on her shoulders. It caught her slightly off guard. She flinched and he felt her muscles tense up underneath his hands.

"It's good to see you're feeling better," he said as he started massaging her neck and shoulders. He leaned over, his head level with hers. "Relax," he whispered.

He noticed right away that she wasn't wearing a bra: no straps to have to work around. He started out very gently, feeling her relax under the gentle pressure of his hands rubbing back and forth on her neck. Slowly, he increased the intensity and slid his hands under the neck of her shirt, his hands coming into contact with the soft skin of her shoulders. 

Ashley couldn't help but enjoy this sexually charged moment between the two of them. Donald's hands were very strong and much softer that she anticipated. He moved his hands expertly across her skin, applying just the right pressure on her somewhat tense muscles. She had to be careful not to let herself get lost in the moment. He was very good at this, and she could tell he knew exactly what he was doing. He had an agenda of sorts. This became very apparent when he put one hand on either side of her neck and slowly guided her head back until it was resting against his stomach, just above his belt.

Lydecker knew he was pushing things a bit too far, but he didn't want to stop. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, and the pleasure she was experiencing was evident from the expression on her face. He was in total control of her emotions right now. He ran his hands through her short hair and began massaging her temples. He let his eyes wander. She had on one of his dress shirts. _What is it about a woman in a man's dress shirt? _The top button was the only one she had not buttoned. _That can be easily taken care of. _He let his hands slowly make their way down to her neck again, barely brushing the sides of her face as he did so, making sure that his hands were always in contact with her skin. Focusing his attention on the area around her clavicles, he was careful to note her reaction as he worked his way down her breastbone. He skillfully unbuttoned the first button he came to, revealing the curve of each of her breasts. He felt her take in a deep breath, and then exhale slowly, her moist lips parting momentarily as she did so. Lydecker knew that, if he wanted to, he could be on top of her and inside of her in a matter of minutes.

Ashley hadn't succeeded in remaining in control of the situation. She was totally at his mercy. With each sensual touch of his hands, her body got more excited. She did have enough sense about her to keep her eyes closed. She knew if she looked into those eyes of his, she'd be done for. She couldn't let herself give in to her emotions.

Lydecker moved his left hand down further, almost to the end of her ribcage, and he unbuttoned one more button. Then he slid both hands back up to her shoulders, cupping them in his hands and running them down her arms, pushing the shirt down as he did so. 

Ashley knew what was about to happen. She needed to sit forward and put some space between them and a stop to this before things got out of hand, but she didn't. She didn't want to. She wanted to give in.

With both of her breasts now exposed, Lydecker eased around the couch, never taking his eyes off of her, and took his place beside her on the couch. Her breasts were not large. In all honesty, they were rather small. But, right now, to Lydecker, they couldn't have been more perfect. He couldn't wait to have those hard nipples pressed against his chest, rubbing up and down his chest as they made love.

Ashley opened her eyes and turned slightly to face him. He was looking intensely into her eyes as he leaned forward, placing one hand on her shoulder and one on her hip, guiding her so that she was practically lying back on the couch. 

He unbuttoned the rest of her shirt and let it fall to her sides, revealing her tone abdomen and the fact that she had on gym pants. The elastic waste on the pants made them easy for him to remove, which he wasted no time in doing. He was leaning over her, his eyes moving back and forth from her face to her breasts, all the while moving his face closer and closer to hers. 

His body now on top of hers, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. He felt her firm breasts even through the shirt he was still wearing.

Ashley had maneuvered her hands so that they were now unzipping his pants and working his belt loose. As she worked on getting his pants undone, it was rather evident that he was very much aroused right now.

Lydecker felt Ashley unzip his pants. He then felt her hand go down his pants.

A knock at the door startled Ashley, and clearly annoyed Lydecker. Ashley quickly withdrew her hand and looked anxiously over at the door.

__

Not now. He just sat there staring at this beautiful woman lying beneath him for what seemed like an eternity. She was his for the taking. But now he was irritated, and not as much 'in the mood' as he had been moments ago. And he hated being interrupted. He knew the moment was over when Ashley began trying to pull her shirt back on to cover herself up. _Damn._

As quickly as this whole thing had started, it ended. He got up, zipped up his pants, fastened his belt, and walked to the door. He retrieved the food and placed it on the table while Ashley finished dressing herself.


End file.
